The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1914-07-07
Indian Dentists of
a Thousand Years Ago


That the art OF filling teeth with
foreign substances was known To var
ious aboriginal tribes of She Ameri-
cas- hundreds OF years before the Col
umbian era perhaps even a thousand
years ago. Is a fact that has 1cen
known to archaelogists Tor some
time. Among the leading anthropoli-
gists of this country Is DR.. Marshall
II. Saville, Loubat professor OF Amer
lean archaeology In Columbia uniyer-
sity. In his scientific INVESTIGATIONS
In the west coast provinces Of Ecua-
dor and Colombia he has made many
valuable discoveries. His first visit
TO this region was made in the sum
mer of 1906. In a communication to
the International Congress Of Amerl-
canists held at Vienna In 1905,
among other interesting details was
tho following account dealing with
tho subject OF decoration of the
teeth.
"Another custom which We found
In Esmeraidas, and which, so far 49,
we are aware, In not present In any
other part II South America, is the
decoration of the teeth by the inser-
ton Of inlays In small ~periorations
cut m the enamel of the upper incis-
ors. This custom OF decorating the
teeth was quite common In various
parts of Mexico. where different set
tings were used. In the Mayan area
as far south as Salvador, the object
most often used for the inlay was
l. IL. l.. NV.wfUa 60. aNuFnnfR In
Oaxacn, | have found hemntite used
ia vera Cruz. tourquoise has been
found: and In other parts teeth with
settings Of rock crystal, obsidian' n
"A red cement have been found. We
have never heard Of this custom M
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 Mex
leo M Central America, with the eN-
ception Of the material"
In the June number Of the Bull
letin OF the Pan American Union,
Washington, D. C., appears a review
of Professor Saville's latest puNica-
ton. "Pre-Columbian Decoration oil
the Teeth in Ecuador" in which the
reviewer states that the finding ~
teeth inlaid with gold, turquoise, and
other substances. in the skulls ana
among the skeletai remains of abo-
rieinees who lived in various parts al
the American continents prior 10 ths
Spanish discoveries has been n mat
ter OF peculiar interest. whether
this insertion OF foreign substances
in the enamel Of the teeth was az
ways for merely decorative purposes
or whether at times II may have
been TO serve n useful end has beer
n mooted question. The general con-
sensus of opinion among anthropolo'
! glsts is that ornamentation was th'
; sole object
1 Las summer Prof. savllie returned
from another archaeological trip e
south America with numerous val
liable specimens, among them beini
n OF unusual interest, described D.
r the professor as follows:
I "In the spring Of 1913, n Cholo
= one of n natives Of Atacames,
town in the province OF Esmeraldas
about - miles southwest OF the cit
OF Esmeraldas. found a skeleton II
J. a burial tube on the right bank @
: the Rio Atacames. just about M
+. town. The skull was found with tn
p, teeth inlaid with gold, but the finde
u contented himself with breaking OF
= the superior maXillary. throwing tn
rest of the skull away. When ! Wis
q tied the town In June Of the ores
cnt year for the purpose OF maxim
some excavations 20 supplement n
= former work, I obtained the tras
~ ment. The two upper middle teetl
n are decorated by the insertion OF TIM
a gold disks In cavities drilled or bore
In the enamel on The face Of IN
teeth. An unusual dental feat .
% addition TO the decoration, Is foun
In the right middle tooth. This
Ie not a right middle inclsor, but a righ
lateral lnolsor which does not belon
"a the Jaw but was implanted 10 re
N place the middle incisor. This 1
such an extraordinary feature TINS
We must weigh very carefully th
A evidence as 20 It's having been foun
In the law. Indeed there II no req
" son 20 doubt that the replacement
IA genuine triumph Of the ancier
dentists of Ataoames"
/. Another skull showed teeth tha
had been "face-crowned" with Eol'
NJ the enamel having been skilfully n
i. moved down 90 the dentine and On
teeth being In a perfect state OF pre-
y ervaiion. So much for the India
al dentists of a thousand years 4