Analysis of two teeth found in layers belonging to the Pleistocene of Stajnia Cave (Poland) has revealed marks left by toothpicks. Some of the oldest Neanderthal DNA in central and eastern Europe was recently sequenced in this same area, and it is not the first trace of dental hygiene found by scientists in remains found at the site.
The current discovery has just been published in the Journal of Human Evolution and the work was carried out by an international team of scientists from Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. Although it is practically impossible to determine what type of object would be used as a toothpick to remove the remains of food on the teeth, the scientists indicate that it had to be a cylindrical and very rigid object, which also had to be used frequently enough to leave a clear trail. A twig, a piece of bone or a fish bone are some of the possibilities.
The scientists also did not find signs of pathologies such as hypoplasias or cavities, although they did find signs of severe wear on the wisdom tooth, which could be related to the ingestion of very hard food.
Sapiens or Neanderthals?
To determine whether the tooth belonged to Homo sapiens or H. neanderthalensis , the scientists evaluated the structure of the tooth’s crown, the thickness of the enamel, the contour of the dentin surface, and the microtrauma of the crown surface. All these data were corroborated with those of other Neanderthal teeth and with current and fossil representatives of our species.
“ The good condition of the premolar allowed us to perform 2D and 3D analysis of enamel thickness , digital reconstruction and assessment of enamel thickness, which in Neanderthals is thinner than in H. sapiens . All these characteristics taken together point to Neanderthals. ”, Explains Wioletta Nowaczewska, one of the authors of the work.
In Central and Eastern Europe it is rare to find skeletal remains of Neanderthals and, in Poland, these finds usually take place towards the south of the country, since in the north the conditions for survival were much more difficult. For Nowaczewska, the search for skeletal remains of Neanderthals should focus on the highlands and other sites in southern Poland, since that would be the area with the best living conditions at that time.
