Many of us have had our teeth extracted in the dentist’s chair under local or general anesthesia, and even with modern medicine it is not a pleasant experience. Don’t think about thousands of years of people voluntarily having their beautiful, healthy front teeth hammered or pulled out; this practice continued from 4800 BP until the early 1900s. And all of this was primarily in the name of beauty.

Fossils recovered from 40 sites in modern-day Taiwan shed new light on the teething ritual on the island; Well-preserved male and female skulls show consistent patterns of missing teeth. Researchers from the Australian National University and the Department of Archeology and Natural History at the University of Guam used historical records alongside their discoveries to uncover a more complete story of why and how this was done over nearly five thousand years.

“The first and most frequently cited motivation was beautification, arising from the desire to distinguish oneself from the facial features of animals and to increase personal attractiveness, especially to the opposite sex,” the researchers wrote in the paper. “An interesting expression, emphasizing that he was after the sight of a red tongue peeking out from between shiny teeth.”

Across the island, different communities appeared to have different teething methods, but the practice generally involved the removal of a few upper front teeth, most commonly incisors (I) and/or canines (C).

“Due to the high symmetry and regularity of extracted teeth in individuals with good oral health, the result was interpreted as intentional ablation rather than alveolar pathology or traumatic accidents,” the researchers said.

The team, led by archaeologist Yue Zhang, was able to distill the findings into four different cultural motivations behind this painful procedure. As noted above, the most common reason across communities was aesthetics; distinguishing humans from animals such as dogs, monkeys and pigs, and the unattractiveness of regular teething. And interestingly, they were amazed by the tooth arrangement found in mice.

Secondly, four populations showed that this was for practical reasons, to enable better pronunciation in speech and to reduce the likelihood of ‘overcrowding’ (hyperdontia). (Although I had four premolars extracted for this reason, thankfully anesthesia had been invented by then.)

The third reason the team found was commemoration, or what the researchers call “tests of courage,” in which young members of the community visibly display “bravery.”

“Local people believed that cutting teeth could reduce pain from tattooing or ease pronunciation difficulties,” the authors added. “In many cases, the visible result was seen as evidence of courage.”

Finally, the ritual was performed as a signal to indicate that young tribe members had reached adulthood or to distinguish people in the society.

“The resulting patterns on the teeth may alter interpersonal expression and communication and potentially signal that the individual has acquired a new self-identity or group membership,” the researchers added. “This practice can thus be understood as part of a community’s definitive repertoire of cultural traits.”

So how were the teeth removed? Pretty brutal, as expected. While northern tribes used a striking method, southern communities preferred the thread-assisted pulling technique.

“Five groups living in the northern part of Taiwan (Atayal, Saisiyat, Sediq, Thao and Truku) typically placed one end of a mediator on the surface of the tooth and hammered the other end with a striker to facilitate tooth extraction.” researchers explained. “The materials used as meditators and strikers varied, including metal, stone or wood.

“The four southern groups (Bun, Hla’alua, Kanakanavu, and Tsou) used one (or two) wooden or bamboo stick(s) with a thread attached to one or both ends,” they continued. “The procedure associated with the South involved wrapping the tooth tightly with thread and applying force to rods attached to the thread until the tooth was dislodged.”

The space will then be filled with ash from plants such as reeds. miscanthus floridulusThis will stop bleeding and help prevent inflammation. According to historical records, most teething “ceremonies” were also performed in winter to minimize the risk of infection.

“The extracted teeth were then buried in places such as in front of the millet barn, under the bed and on the thatched roof,” the authors said.

This research was conducted in Taiwan during the Neolithic period B.C. It fills – no pun intended – many gaps in our understanding of this long-standing tradition, which began around 4800 BC and continued through the Iron Age, only to wane in the early 1900s. As traditions began to change, genders also changed, and the last known tooth extractions were performed primarily on women.

“In the 1910s, armed repression by ruling bodies to subdue indigenous peoples resulted in the elimination of local customs, including teething,” the researchers added.

The ancient ritual appears to have first become widespread in Taiwan around the same time as pottery and crop cultivation, suggesting that it may have been a practice imported via migration from southern China.

“Overall, the southern coast of China represents a strong candidate as the source of the pottery tradition, rice and millet farming, and other diagnostic markers of Early Neolithic groups that moved to live in Taiwan,” the researchers added, noting that further study is warranted. Needed to identify the origins of dental ablation in Southeast Asia. “So far the most plausible origin appears to be from the Middle Yangtze to the Guangdong-Fujian coast.”

The research was published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia.

Source: Australian National University via Phys.org