Many of us will have had a tooth pulled in the dentist chair, either under local or general anesthetic, and even with modern medicine, it's not a pleasant experience. So spare a thought for the people who, for millennia, voluntarily had good, healthy front teeth hammered or pulled out – a practice that continued from 4800 BP to the early 1900s. And it was primarily all in the name of beauty.
Fossils recovered from 40 sites in modern-day Taiwan have shed new light on the ritual of tooth ablation on the island, with well-preserved skulls of men and women showing consistent patterns of missing teeth. Researchers from the Department of Archaeology and Natural History at the Australian National University and the University of Guam used their discoveries, as well as historical records, to reveal a more complete story about why and how this was done for nearly five millennia.
"The first and most frequently mentioned motivation was beautification, arising from a desire to distinguish oneself from the facial features of animals, as well as to enhance personal attractiveness, in particular to the opposite sex," the researchers noted in the paper. "An interesting testimony underscored the pursuit of the sight of a crimson tongue peeking through the gap of bright teeth."
Across the island, different communities appeared to have different patterns of tooth removal, but the practice generally involved removing several upper front teeth, most commonly the incisors (I) and/or the canines (C).
"Due to the high symmetry and regularity of removed teeth among individuals with good oral health, the outcome was interpreted as intentional ablation rather than caused by alveolar pathology or traumatic accidents," the researchers observed.
The team – led by archaeologist Yue Zhang – was able to split the findings into four distinct cultural motivations behind the painful procedure. As mentioned above, the most widespread reason across communities was aesthetics – to separate humans from animals such as dogs, monkeys and pigs, and because regular dentition was deemed unattractive. And, interestingly, because they admired the teeth arrangement found in mice.
Secondly, four populations showed it was for practical reasons, to allow for better pronunciation in speech and to reduce the likelihood of 'overcrowding' (hyperdontia). (While I had four premolars extracted for this reason, thankfully anesthetics had been invented by then.)
The third reason, the team found, was memorial – or what the researchers call "tests of courage" and to visibly display "bravery" to younger members of society.
"Local people believed that ablating the teeth could reduce pain from tattooing or alleviate difficulty in pronunciation," the authors added. "In many cases, the visible result was viewed as proof of bravery."
Finally, the ritual was performed as a signal, to indicate young tribe members had reached adulthood or to differentiate people in the society.
"The resulting patterns on the teeth could alter interpersonal expression and communication, potentially signaling that an individual has acquired a new attribute of self-identity or group membership," the researchers added. "Thus, this practice can be understood as part of a community's repertoire of definitive cultural traits."
And how were the teeth removed? Well, as expected, quite brutally. Northern tribes used a striking method, while the southern populations preferred a thread-assisted pulling technique.
"Five groups living in [the] northern portion of Taiwan (Atayal, Saisiyat, Sediq, Thao, and Truku) typically placed one end of a mediator against the tooth's surface and hammered the other end with a striker to facilitate tooth extraction," the researchers described. "The materials used as meditators and strikers varied as metal, stone, or wood.
"The four southerly groups (Bunun, Hla'alua, Kanakanavu, and Tsou) employed one (or two) wood or bamboo stick(s) with a thread attached to one or both ends," they continued. "The southern-associated procedure included bundling the tooth tightly with thread and applying force on the stick(s) that attached to the thread until the tooth was dislodged."
The cavity would then be filled with ash from plants such as the sedge Miscanthus floridulus, which would stem the bleeding and help prevent inflammation. According to historical records, most tooth ablation "ceremonies" were also conducted in winter, to minimize the risk of infection.
"The extracted teeth then were buried in locations such as in front of the millet barn, under the bed, and on the thatched roof," the authors noted.
This research fills in many gaps – no pun intended - in our understanding of this longstanding tradition in Taiwan, which began around 4800 BP in the Neolithic period, and continued through the Iron Age, but tapered out by the early 1900s. As customs began to change, so did the gender shift, and the last known teeth removals were primarily performed on women.
"In the 1910s, the armed suppression enforced by ruling entities to subdue aboriginal populations resulted in the eradication of local traditions, including tooth ablation," the researchers added.
The ancient ritual appears to have first become common in Taiwan around the same time as pottery and crop farming, which suggests it may have been a practice that was imported by migration from the south of China.
"Overall, coastal southern China has represented a strong candidate as a source of the pottery tradition, rice and millet farming, and other diagnostic markers of the Early Neolithic groups who moved to live in Taiwan," the researchers added, noting that more work is needed to determine the origins of tooth ablation in Southeast Asia. "So far, the most plausible origin appears to have been 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
