A Neolithic dental clinic
At a Neolithic graveyard site in modern-day Pakistan, archaeologists uncovered the first known evidence of dentistry. The discovery at Mehrgarh shows that as far back as 9,000 years ago, people drilled teeth to treat decay. Researchers analyzing bodies from the burial ground found eleven drilled molar crowns belonging to nine different adults. The work was not decorative; the holes were on molars that were not easily visible, suggesting a therapeutic purpose.
The procedures were performed on living individuals. Evidence of tooth wear after the drilling shows the patients continued to use their teeth. The prehistoric dentists used flint drill bits, likely powered by a bow, similar to tools used for making beads. Experiments have shown that this method could create a hole in a human tooth in about a minute. The tiny, precise holes measure between 1.3 and 3.2 millimeters in diameter. This technique predates the next-oldest evidence of dentistry, found in Denmark, by over 4,000 years.
Precursor to a civilization
The Mehrgarh settlement is one of South Asia's earliest sites showing evidence of farming and herding, occupied from around 7000 BCE to 2500 BCE. It is a precursor to the great Indus Valley Civilization. The inhabitants lived in mud-brick houses, some with multiple rooms, and built special granaries to store their food.
Excavations led by French archaeologists Jean-François and Catherine Jarrige, starting in 1974, revealed that the people of Mehrgarh cultivated crops like six-row barley, einkorn, and emmer wheat. They also herded cattle, sheep, and goats. The site has a collection of about 32,000 artifacts. These include terracotta figurines decorated with paint and elaborate hairstyles. Artisans at Mehrgarh also produced beads from imported materials like lapis lazuli and turquoise, indicating early long-distance trade networks. A 6,000-year-old copper amulet found at the site is the oldest known example of the lost-wax casting technique.