Today’s Art Spotted comes from the Late Classic Mayan Period (from 700 to 900 CE/AD). Intentional dental modification in the Mayan culture dates back to at least 2,500 years ago. Jeweled inlays on the outer side of the teeth (the labial surface) required extremely skilled dentists as it would be easy to injure the pulp cavity. Inlays of turquoise, gold, pyrite, and jadeite were common and anthropologists believe that this type of dental modification was linked with high social status. Filing crosshatched grooves into the labial surface of the teeth, filing the teeth into points, or altering the shape of the dental crown in other ways were also common.
The Mayans were not the only culture known to intentionally modify their teeth. Archaeologists have also found evidence of horizontal grooves filed into the teeth of young Viking males dating from 800 to 1050 CE/AD. It is also interesting to note that intentional dental modification continues into the modern era in both permanent and non-permanent forms. The piece of jewelry known as the grill, a fitted metal cap worn over the teeth and typically studded with gemstones, appeared in the early 1980s and became widely known and popularized in America during the mid-2000s.
How do you feel about dental modification? Would you ever consider wearing a non-permanent grill or getting your teeth permanently modified/inlaid with jewels?
For more information on Mayan inlay dental modification: click here to read the National Geographic article.
For more information of the different types of Mayan dental modification: click here.
For information of Viking dental modification: click here.
Also visit the original article from the American Journal of Physical Anthropology: click here (pdf file).
To read about grills: click here.
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