The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-06-28
DENTISTRY WAS
AN ANCIENT ART
UNUSUAL DENTAL FEATS OF IN
DIANS MORE THAN THOU
SAND YEARS AGO.

That tho art OF. filing teeth with
foreign substances was known TO
various aboriginal tribes of the Amer
teas hundreds OF years before the
Columbian era, perhaps even a thou
sand years ago, is a fact that has been
known to archaeologist for some time.
Among the leading anthropologists OF
this country is DR.. Marshall II. Sayiile.
L.ouhat professor of American arch
aeology. in Columbia university In
his scientific Investigations IN the
west coast provinces OF Ecuador and
Colombia he has made many valu-
able discoveries. His first visit to
this region Was rnade-in the summer
of 1905. In%a. Communication to the
Internatio Congress OF american
lists. held at Vienna iua 1905, among
other interesting, details. ewas.,the fol-
lowing account dealing wftfcfha<sao-
jeot elaboration OF tho teeth.
Another custom switch ave found
In Esnserahlas. andA-whiohi go Mar AS
we are aware. lis not pressnt4an any
other part of South AmerdcRsis the
decoration of the teeth by tho sinser-
ton of inlays in small perforations
: cut in rthe enamel OF the upper In
cisors. THIS custom of ~decoratingtthe
teeth was quite common ia various
parts OF Mexico.x where different set
tinEs were used. In the sMayan~area.
as far South asa Salvado or. athe son9scf
most often used for the Inlay was
iadeHe. In Mexico, Fforrexanp6e in
Oaxaca. ! have found hemat4te aused;
in Vera Cruz. turquoise has sbeen
found, and I'm other parts teeth*wuh
settings OF rock crystal. obsidian.kand
a red cement hayesheen found. we
have never heard OF this tcustomsY In
Colombia ORA Peru. buts1n .ESnSera1das,
in Atacames. skni!Hs have been fnEnd
with tiny disks of goldssdt into the
teeth in the SAME ma rner as.hs<Mexfco
and Central Amarica, sIEithkfhe sexcep-
ton of the material.
In the June number iof the Bulletin
of the Pan AmericanGu Union. Wash
ington, ID, G., appearstA review OF
ProtessorIAsarille's latest publication.
''Pre-Columhian Decoration Of the
Teeth in Ecuador."iin which the gre
viewer states that the finding OF
teeth tnlaid with gold. turquoise. and
other suhstnnces,s1n the skulls and
among the sksletal remains of
aborigines who lived inSvarious parts
Of the American continents prior 10
the Spanish discoveries. has beenua
matter of peculiar interest. Wheth-
ersfilis insertion ofsforeignssubstancea
in the enamel of -the teeth was al
Y
or whether OF times it may have been
to serve a useful end has been a
mooted question. The general con-
sepsus of opinion among anthro-
biologists "a that ornamentation was
the sole object
Last summer Professor Saville re-
turned from another archaeological
trip to South America with numerous
valuable specimens, among them be-
ing one OF unusual interest, described
by the professor as follows:
'In the spring OF 1919. Cholo. one
of the natives OF Atacamea, a town in
the province of Esmeraldas. about
twelve miles southwest of the city OF
Esmeraldas. found 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 con-
tented himself with breaking off the
superior maxiilary, throwing the rest
of the skull away. When I visited
the town In June Of the present year
for the uIpose Of making some ex-
cavations to supplement my former
work, obtained the fragment. The
two upper middle teeth are decorated
by the insertion Of thin gold disks In
cavities drilled or bored In the enamel
Of the face OF the teeth. An unusual
dental feat. in addition to the decora-
ton. is found in the right middle
tooth. This IL not right middle In
cisor. but right lateral incisor which
does not belong to the Jaw, but was
oisor, ThiA Ii such N extraordinary
fSakura thAt ~ must weigh vary care.
$a1 Il n IN