Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-06-27
Filling Teeth
IS ANCIENT ART
South American Exploration and
Archaeological Experts Dis.
cover Numerous Gases.

Archaeological Experts Dis.
cover Numerous Gases.
That the art Of filling teeth will
foreign substances was known t
various aboriginal tribes of tn,
Americas hundreds of years before
the Columbian era, perhaps even i.
thousand years ago, is q fact tina
has ben known to archaeologists fol
some time. Among the leading an
thropologists of this country is DR.
Marshall II. Saville, Locbat Profes
s0r Of American Archaeology in Co
lcmbia University. In his scientific
nvestifations ii the west coast prov
inces Of Ecuador and Colmcbia he
has made many valuable discoveries
His first visit to this region was
made in the scmmer of 1906. II a
communication to the international
o1gress of Americanists held al
Vienna in 1908, among other inter
esti1g details was the following &C.
count dealing with the scbject Of
decoration of the teeth:
Ancient ccstoms.
Another ccstOm which we focnd
in Esmeraldas, and which, SO far as
we r aware, / sn0t present il any
other part of South America, is the
decoration of the teeth by the inser.
ton Of inlays il small perforations
cut in the, enamel Of the cpperincis.
ors. This custom of d~ecoratin the
teeth was quite common in various
parts Of Mexico, where different set.
tings we're used. In the Magyar
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
obsidian, and a red cement have
been found. We have. never heard
Of this custom in Columbia or Peru
but in Esmeraldas, in Atacames,
skulle have been found with tiny
disks of gold set into the teeth il
the same manner as in Mexica and
Central America, with the exception
of the material"
In the June number of the Bulletin
of the Pan American Union, appears
q review of Professor Saville's lat.
est publication, PREF Columbia Dec.
Grafton of the Teeth in Ecuador" in
which the reviewer states that the
finding of teeth inlaid win gold, tur.
quoise, and other substances, in the
skulls and among the skeletal re.
mains Of aboriginees who lived in
various parts Of the American cont.
nents prior to the Spanish discover.
les has been a matter of peculiar in.
terest. whether this insertion OF
foreign substances in the enamel OF
the teeth was always for merely de
%corative purposes or whether at
times it may have been to serve a
useful end has been q NOTED ques.
tion. The general consensus OF
opinion among authropologists is
that oraamentation was the sole OBJ.
ject.'
Made Long Trip.
Last summer Prof. Saville return.
ed from another archaeological trip
to South America with numerous
valuable specimens, among them be-
ing n of unusual interest, describ-
ed by the professor as follows:
Used Burial Tubes.
In the spring of 1913, a Cholo,
one of the native of Atacames, a
town in the province of Esmeraldas,
about 18 miles southwest of the city
of Esmeraldas, found a skeleton in a
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 can
tented himself with breaking of the
superior maxillary, throwing the
rest Of the skull away. When l
visited the town in June of the pres
e1t year for the purpose of making
some excavations to supplement my
former work, obtained the frag.
ment. The two upper middle teeth
orc ueCOrIeu ny Tile insertion OF thin
gold disks in cavities drilled or Dor
ed in the enamel of the face of the
teeth. An unusual dental feat, in ad.
dition to the decoration, is found in
the right middle tooth. This is not
a right middle i%ncisor, but a right
lateral incisor which does not be-
long to the jaw but was implanted
to replace the middle i1cisor. This
Is such an extraordinary feature that
we must weigh very carefully the
evidence as to its having been found
in the jaw. Indeed there is no
doubt that the replacement is a
genuine triumph Of the ancient den.
lists of Atacames."
Face Growing Years AGO.
Another skull showed teeth that
had been "facecrowned' with gold.
the enamel having been skillfully Re.
moved down to the denti1e and the
teeth bling in q perfect state of pes
ervation. So much for the Indian
dentists of a thousand wear ago