59,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Molar Reveals Cavity Treated with "Stone Drill"

Russian Academy of Sciences Research Team Announces Findings

"First Case Confirmed in a Non-Homo sapiens Species"

A new study has revealed that Neanderthals, an ancient human species, also performed dental procedures to treat cavities. This is the first confirmed case of dental treatment in a species other than modern humans, Homo sapiens.

According to the UK daily The Guardian on May 13 (local time), researchers from the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that they had identified artificially drilled marks on a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar discovered in the Chagyrskaya Cave in southern Siberia. The Guardian reported that this is the first confirmed case of a tooth-drilling procedure in a non-Homo sapiens species. These findings were published recently in the international journal PLOS ONE.

Images of an adult Neanderthal molar estimated to be about 59,000 years old, discovered in the Chagyrskaya Cave in the Siberian region of Russia, photographed from various angles. PLOS ONE, Reuters.

The research team found a deep hole in the center of the tooth, extending into the pulp chamber, the hollow part inside the tooth. Microscopic X-ray analysis also revealed mineralization changes due to severe tooth decay. The researchers explained that it was likely the result of using a sharp, slender stone tool rotated by hand to drill the tooth. In a reproduction experiment using modern human teeth, it took about 35 to 50 minutes to create a similar hole by rotating local stone between two fingers.

Regarding this procedure, Professor Justin Durham, Chief Scientific Adviser at the British Dental Association, described it as "the early stage of root canal treatment," and explained, "It would have helped relieve pain in the short term by reducing internal pressure within the tooth." Although such treatment would have caused extreme pain at the time due to the lack of anesthesia, it ultimately may have helped reduce toothache by effectively removing the problematic part of the tooth.

Experts also believe that the patient survived for some time after the procedure, based on the smooth edges and signs of wear inside the drilled tooth. However, it is analyzed that the untreated cavity, left without any filling material, would have made the individual vulnerable to chronic infection.

The researchers evaluated this discovery as "the oldest known evidence of dental treatment in the world," adding that "it strongly supports the view that Neanderthals were not brutish and inferior beings as commonly stereotyped, but rather a sophisticated human group with complex cognitive and cultural abilities."

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