干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

During the excavation of a Late Neolithic cemetery near Nabta Playa, Egypt, two crania were recovered that evidenced tooth replacement in antiquity. Both were apparently collected and redeposited by Neolithic people after being disturbed by later burials. In the first case, a young female’s maxillary anterior alveoli contained a combination of mandibular and misplaced maxillary teeth. In the second case, another young female’s maxilla and mandible contained two incorrectly placed teeth. This, and other evidence, suggest that attempts were made to return these individuals to the soil in as complete of a state as possible-being limited only by the ancient grave-digger’s level of anatomical knowledge. A review of the mortuary literature and inquiries made to several leading bioarchaeologists suggest that the tooth replacement seen here may be unique; we have been unable to document comparable treatment in any other context worldwide. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.