Ancient Gem-Studded Teeth
“The glittering ‘grills’ of some hip-hop stars aren’t exactly unprecedented. Sophisticated dentistry allowed Native Americans to add bling to their teeth as far back as 2,500 years ago, a new study says. Ancient peoples of southern North America went to “dentists”—among the earliest known—to beautify their chompers with notches, grooves, and semiprecious gems, according to a recent analysis of thousands of teeth examined from collections in Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (such as the skull above, found in Chiapas, Mexico). Scientists don’t know the origin of most of the teeth in the collections, which belonged to people living throughout the region, called Mesoamerica, before the Spanish conquests of the 1500s. But it’s clear that people—mostly men—from nearly all walks of life opted for the look, noted JosĂ© ConcepciĂłn JimĂ©nez, an anthropologist at the institute, which recently announced the findings.” w/ photo
