Ancient people also drilled teeth

The bore holes in the teeth are under the microscope.( Photo: BBC )

Stone age people in Pakistan used flint drills to cure their teeth 9,000 years ago.

The teeth were found in a Neolithic period graveyard in Mehgarh in Baluchistan province, Pakistan, showing the traces of drill holes. The dental analysis showed that prehistoric dentists used to treat toothache with a flint drill.

The teeth show that the tool has been very effective in removing decaying marrow. About 11 teeth were drilled.

" The smooth edges of the boreholes indicate that drilling is done on the living and they continue to chew after being cured ," said researcher Roberto Macchiarelli at the University of Poitiers, France.

This dental treatment in Mehrgarh lasts for 1,500 years until it is banned in the area.

Flint drills were found everywhere in Mehrgarh, and among the beads made of bones, shells and turquoise. The authors argue that the drilling skills are also developed by the craftsmen themselves.

MT