Pre-historic people living in South-Central Asia 8,000 years ago may have used stone-tipped drills to repair teeth. In what could be one of the earliest examples of dentistry,scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the United States have found tiny, perfectly rounded holes in teeth found in Mehrgarh in pre-historic Pakistan, which they suspect were drilled to repair tooth decay.
"The researchers looked at the holes with an electron microscope and found the sides were too perfectly rounded to be cavities caused by bacteria," according to the weekly science magazine.
"Under the microscope, they could see concentric grooves left by what was probably a drill with a tiny stone bit."
Andrea Cucina, who first discovered the tiny holes, said they didn't appear to be a funeral rite and the teeth were still in the jaw so they had not been drilled to make a necklace.
He and his colleagues suspect the holes were a treatment for tooth decay and that plants or another substance had been inserted into the holes to prevent bacterial growth.
Because the holes were the same diameter of those found in their beads the scientists said the people of Mehrgarh had the skill and tools to perform such delicate work.
"At this point we can't be certain," said Cucina. "But it is very tantalizing to think they had such knowledge of health and cavities and medicine to do this."
The Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus River Valley civilization and the Ashokan empire.
There were two main rivers in the Indus Valley Civilization; The Ghaggar-Hakra and the Indus.
The earliest known civilization in India existed from about 2500â??1700 BCE. It was known as the Indus Valley Civilization. We didn't know of its existence until 1921.
The Indus Valley Civilization flourished during the Bronze Age along the Indus River basin, It was situated in what is currently northwest India and Pakistan. This civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization.
Indus Valley is the worlds first civilization.
Indus Valley is the worlds first civilization.
The Indus Valley Civilization: Harappa, Mohenjodaro
The Indus Valley Civilization
indus valley indus valley
The Harappan
The first Indian civilization began at the Indus Valley.
Indus river
MADAR CHOD
Harappa and Mohenjodaro
Indus valley.
Potty is very important!