This prehistoric technique shows how people harvested their jewels’ teeth in the Ice Age
When the cultural practices of ancient humans were integrated, traditional archaeologists rely on clues to cultural relics such as tools, bones and pottery. But experimental archaeologists have taken a step to make up for past behaviors to experience the way people once lived.
This is exactly what a team of researchers recently investigated how Stone Age communities in Northeast Europe extract animal teeth to produce accessories. Led by visiting scholar Aija Macāne from the Department of Culture at the University of Helsinki, archaeologists personally tested seven different extraction methods to determine which one is most effective and effective. Their discovery, published June 20 in the journal Archaeology and Anthropological Sciences, provides new insights into the lives of prehistoric hunters.
“Our experiments show that tooth extraction is a deliberate, time-sensitive process embedded into daily life, especially in cooking practices,” McCann said in a statement from the university. “This challenges the assumption that the teeth used for decorations are simply cleaned or easily available.”
According to researchers, animal teeth are one of the most common materials for making jewelry, accessories and other personal decorations during the Stone Age, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Experts know this is thanks to sites like Zvejnieki, a cemetery in northern Latvia where hunter-gatherers rest people for about five thousand years, from 7,500 to 2,600 B.C. More than 2,000 animal teeth were excavated from Zvejnieki’s grave, making it the main location for studying the interactions of ancient people with these materials.
Archaeologists have extensively studied animal dental pendants from this site, studying which species they come from, how they are used, where they are placed in the grave, and how they are made. The researchers noted that there were fewer studies, examining the process of tooth extraction and physical traces.
To fill this knowledge gap, Macāne and her colleagues dirty their hands in the text. The team conducted a series of experiments to test seven different prehistoric methods for extracting teeth: cutting, percussion (or blow), air drying, soaking, direct heat and two cooking techniques. They selected these techniques based on previous archaeological and ethnographic studies. “While other methods can be tested, we believe these seven are the most likely technologies to be obtained right now,” the researchers noted in the report.
Over the course of a year, they experienced the Stone Age human feeling that needed some toothy money. The researchers conducted experiments at the experimental center in eastern Latvia, which allowed them to source the necessary raw materials from licensed local hunters. In total, they used seven skulls or mandibles of Eurasian elk, two skulls or mandibles from wild boars, and two skulls from Roe Deer.
Of all the methods they tested, two cooking techniques proved to be the most effective. Cooking the mandible in a ceramic pot not only poaches the meat, but also causes soft tissue to fall off the bone, making it easy to manually extract the teeth. Putting the entire skull in the earth oven – a dig hole for capturing heat, in this case steam food – also has the same effect.
Both methods allow for high extraction rates without damaging teeth and add the added benefit of eating and rendering the rest of the bones that are suitable for tool-made. These findings suggest that tooth extraction may have been incorporated into a wider cultural practice, combining food preparation, personal decorations and funerals.
As for other techniques, immersion proved to be successful, but did not provide other benefits. Cutting or impacting teeth to remove them is also effective, but this can often cause damage. The last two methods – air drying and applying direct heat – did not achieve successful results.
“While this study focused primarily on the combination of dental pendants in Zvejnieki cemetery, our results have a greater impact on understanding teeth extraction and pendant yields in prehistoric history,” the researchers noted. “By examining the techniques used for tooth extraction, we have valuable insights into human behavior and cultural practices in the Stone Age.”
Despite this, the problem persists. The researchers hope their research will inspire other archaeologists to look for physical traces of the extraction process on animal teeth. They also highlighted the importance of studying teeth in other species, including humans and dogs. They believe that this work will “critically articulate the complexity and significance of these practices.”
