Neanderthals treated – A study of a Neanderthal molar found in a Siberian cave suggests extinct relatives could identify and treat a tooth infection using stone tools—an ability previously documented only in modern humans and far earlier than expected.
When a Neanderthal’s tooth began to fail nearly 60. 000 years ago. the consequences may have been brutal: severe pain. trouble chewing. and infection spreading toward the jawbone. But the tooth that survived to the present day is now pointing to something extraordinary—careful intervention with stone tools to remove decay and relieve the damage.
Researchers say the evidence comes from a single molar discovered in Chagyrskaya Cave in Russia. At the center of the tooth is a deep hole that reaches into the pulp cavity, consistent with dental surgery aimed at treating an infection.
The study. published May 13 in the open-access journal PLOS One. is based on that ancient tooth and concludes that Neanderthals could both recognize a tooth infection and perform the fine motor work needed to drill out the damaged area. The researchers frame it as the first demonstration of this type of behavior outside Homo sapiens—and as the oldest known example by more than 40. 000 years.
Ksenia Kolobova. the study’s senior author. said the findings are important because they show Neanderthals possessed sophisticated cognitive abilities. including planning. precise motor skills. and a deliberate medical strategy. She argued that this challenges the older view that such complex behavior was exclusive to modern humans.
Archaeological finds have long suggested Neanderthals were capable of some dental care. including using toothpicks to remove food and possibly using medicinal plants. But researchers say the extent of their medical capabilities has been unclear. In this new work, they examined a Neanderthal tooth altered to treat an infection, and compared it with experimental results.
To test whether the tooth’s distinctive drilling marks could have been made with tools similar to those found at Chagyrskaya Cave. the researchers ran experiments on three modern human teeth. They showed that a hole with the same shape and the same patterns of microscopic grooves could be created by drilling into enamel and into the tooth structure using a stone point resembling the types of tools found at the site.
The tooth also offered clues about who underwent the procedure. The researchers said it shows the patient was an adult, though they do not know the individual’s gender.
Alisa Zubova, the study’s lead author and an anthropologist at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg, Russia, said the treatment seen in the tooth matches modern understanding of how cavities are treated.
Kolobova described what the person may have been going through. She said the Neanderthal with the infected molar “would have been in significant pain,” possibly being unable to chew properly. In her account, that could lead to malnutrition or even infection spreading to the jawbone.
She added that another group member—possibly someone with experience producing fine stone tools—used “a small perforator” to carefully drill into the tooth. Kolobova emphasized the working conditions were not like a sterile operating room. The mouth. she said. is a difficult space to work in. requiring manual dexterity. patience. and assistance to keep the head still. She suggested the procedure may have taken place within a close social bond, possibly involving family members.
Taken together. the sequence of evidence is tight: a deep hole reaching the pulp cavity. experiments showing the marks can be made with stone points similar to those found at the cave. and a interpretation that the work was deliberate medical care rather than damage or accident. The finding doesn’t just expand the list of Neanderthal skills—it puts their abilities into the realm of planning and treatment.
For years, debates over Neanderthal intelligence have often turned on what could be inferred from surviving artifacts. Here, the artifact is a mouth and a problem that sounds all too familiar: a painful infection. And the tooth’s survival is now being treated as the clearest sign yet that Neanderthals weren’t only surviving with natural instincts—they were also intervening. using tools and coordination. long before Homo sapiens appeared to have the same reputation.
Neanderthals dental surgery PLOS One Chagyrskaya Cave Ksenia Kolobova Alisa Zubova human evolution archaeology stone tools