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A tooth a Neanderthal tried to fix
Top image: Chagyrskaya 64 molar tooth showing the drilled cavity. Source: Zubova et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0

A tooth a Neanderthal tried to fix

Chagyrskaya Cave, Siberia. 60,000 years old. Before writing. Debated. Free

Debated. A new study says the hole was dental care. That is still a claim.

The tooth is from Chagyrskaya Cave, in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. The page calls it 60,000 years old, and also 59,000 years old. It is a lower left second molar. It has a deep hole, and straight grooves near the gum. The study says the hole was made to clear rotten tooth. Tests on modern teeth made the same marks with small pointed jasper tools. Chew marks over the drilled grooves show the person lived on after the work.

The page says the hole was likely made on purpose. It cannot show the act itself.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/neanderthal-dentistry-discovered-00102790