The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1914-06-30
ANCIENT
Dentistry In Ecuador Known
10 Have Existed
Skulls Found With Gold In
The Teeth

That the art of filling teeth with for
eign substances was known to various
aboriginal tribes of the Americas hun
dreds of years before the Columbian
era, perhaps even a thousand years
ago, is a fact that has been known to
archaeologists for some time. Among
the leading anthropologists of this
country is DR.. Marshall II. Saville, Lou
bat Professor of American Archaeolo-
gy in Columbia University. In his sci
entific Investigations in the west coast
provinces of Ecuador and Colombia
he has made many valuable discover
les. His first visit to this region was
made in the summer of 1906. In com.
munication to the international Con
gress of Americanists held at Vienna
in 1908, among other interesting de-
tails was the following account deal
ing with the subject of decoration of
the teeth:
Another custom which we found in
Esmeraldas, and which, so far as we
are aware, is not present in any other
part of South America, is the decora-
ton of the teeth by the insertion of
inlays in small perforations cut in the
enamel of the upper incisors. This
custom of decorating the teeth was
quite common in various parts of
r.tbo
used. In the Mayan area, as far south
as Salvador, the object most often used
for the inlay was jadeite. In Mexico,
for example in OaXaca, have found
hematite used; in Vera Cruz, turquoise
has been found; and in other parts
teeth with settings of rock crystal, OBJ
sidian, and red cement have been
found. We have never heard of this
custom in Colombia or Peru, but in
Esmeraldas, in Atacames, skulls have
been found with tiny disks of gold set
into the teeth in the same manner as
in Mexico and Central America, with
the exception of the material"
|
of the Pan American Union, Washing.
ton, d. c., appears d review of Profes.
| sor Saville's latest publication, "Pre
Colombian Decoration of the Teeth in
Ecuador" in which the reviewer states
that the finding Of teeth inlaid with
gold, turquoise, and other substances
in the skulls and among the skele
tai remains of aborigines who lived in
various part of the American CONT
nents prior to the Spanish discoveries
has been matter of peculiar interest
Whether this insertion of foreign sub
stances in the enamel of the teeth was
always for merely decorative purpos
es or whether at times it may have
been to serve useful end has beer
a mooted question. The general con
sensus of opinion among anthropolo
gists is that ornamentation was the
sole object"
Last summer Pref, Savlle returned
from another archaeological trip tC
South America with numerous valu
able specimens, among them being one
OF unusual interest, described by the
professor as follows:
"In the spring of 1913, Cholo, one
of the natives of Atacames, a town il
the province OF Esmeraldas, about 1t
miles southwest of the city of Esmer
aldas, found a skeleton in burial tube
on the right bank of the Rio Atacames
just above the town. The skull was
found with the teeth inlaid with gold
but the finder contented himself witt
breaking off the superior maxillary
throwing the rest of the skull away
When | visited the town in June o
the present year for the purpose o
making some excavations to supple
ment my former work, | obtained tht
fragment. The two upper middle teetl
are decorated by the insertion of thin
in the enamel OF the face of the teeth
An unusual dental feat, in addition L
the decoration, is found in the righ
middle tooth. This is not a right mid
die incisor, but right lateral inciso
which does not belong to the jaw bu
was implanted to replace the middl
incisor This is such an eXtraordinar,
feature that we must weigh very care
fully the evidence as to its havini
been found in the jaw. In
deed there is no reason to doubt tina
the replacement is a genuine triumph
of the ancient dentists of Atacames.
, Another skull showed teeth that ha
/ been "face-crowned" with gold, tn
enamel having been slSillfully remove
= down the dentine and the teeth bein
in perfect state of preservation. S
T much for the Indian dentists of
! thousand years ago.
I --.SS----
Mrs. w. f. Rimer of East Han
! tramck street went to Centerburg thi
mOrninp m visit raIotfvaa