We scored the presence/absence of alveolar resorption on the CF-1 maxilla. Lower right, the arrow shows the interproximal groove on distal surface of left Pm 3.īoth maxilla and dentition were analysed and examined for oral pathologies such as periodontal disease, dental caries, dental calculus and abscesses. Different general views (inferior, internal, frontal and left) of the maxilla from Cova Foradà site.ĭetailed images of the last row: lower left, the arrow shows the interproximal groove on distal surface of left M 1. The dental wear analysis suggests an estimated age at death of 35–45 years for this individual. The interproximal wear facet on the distal face of the left M 1 indicates that the M 2 was erupted. The lack of signs of new bone formation in the alveoli indicates that the other teeth were lost postmortem. Three teeth remain in place: the left C, Pm 3 and M 1. It contains the left part of the inferior nasal border, the anterior nasal spine and the nasoalveolar clivus. The maxilla comprises the alveoli from the right canine to the second left molar. The material studied consists of three teeth present in situ in the articulated right and left adult maxilla, labelled CF-1 which is temporary housed at Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) in Tarragona, Spain ( Fig. The current regulation is this: Law 9/1993, 30th of setember, Catalan cultural heritage (DOGC number 1807, ). No permits were required for the described study, which complied with all relevant regulations. The layer 11 had faunal remains dated at Upper Paleolithic 16,960+100 BP (20.119 cal B.
The first archaeological levels are dated in the Bronze Age: 5,633☓1 BP (6.437 cal B.P.) (charcoal layer 1, CSIC-1492) and 6196☓4 BP (7.220 cal B.P.) (charcoal layer 2, CSIC-1493). The cave presents human occupation from the Mousterian to the Mesolithic and also Bronze Age, Iberian and medieval period. The Cova Foradà is a cave located in the middle of the central Mediterranean coast on the Iberian Peninsula (Oliva, Valencia) ( Fig. The aim of this study is to show the correlation between the use of toothpicks and an attempt to alleviate sore gums in a Neanderthal maxilla recovered from the archaeological site of Cova Foradà (Oliva, Valencia, Spain).
Agger and colleagues suggest that the use of toothpicks may even constitute evidence of the biological capacity for language. Interproximal grooves on Neanderthal teeth are a common feature, indicating that the habit of picking the teeth with a tool was well established in this species. In human evolution, this habit has often been documented in different Homo species, from Homo habilis 1.84 m.a. The use of toothpicks is widespread in every culture, and spans from the beginning of the genus Homo to modern times. Although these are modern uses, they very likely have a very long history. Although not recommended by dentists, toothpicks are widely used to remove trapped food particles that irritate or hurt the gums. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.Ī toothpick is a small stick normally made of wood, but also of bamboo, metal, bone or other material with one or two sharp ends to insert between the teeth. Field work at the Cova Foradà site is supported by Diputación de Valencia. This research has been supported by AGAUR 2009 SGR-324 and SGR-566 projects of the Generalitat of Catalunya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.įunding: This work is funded by the Dirección General de Investigación of M.E.C., projects number CGL2012-38434-C03-01 and CGL2012-38434-C03-03.
Received: JAccepted: AugPublished: October 16, 2013Ĭopyright: © 2013 Lozano et al. PLoS ONE 8(10):Įditor: Alejandro Lucia, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain Citation: Lozano M, Subirà ME, Aparicio J, Lorenzo C, Gómez-Merino G (2013) Toothpicking and Periodontal Disease in a Neanderthal Specimen from Cova Foradà Site (Valencia, Spain).
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