News in Brief Archaeology

Mongolians practiced horse dentistry as early as 3,200 years ago

Equine tooth extractions evolved to make way for a riding bit, making mounted warfare possible

Mongolian herder

EXTRACTION ACTION  A Mongolian herder removes a first premolar tooth from a young horse using a screwdriver. Mongolian herders invented a comparable procedure nearly 2,800 years ago so that horses could safely hold metal bits in their mouths while being ridden, a new report concludes.

Dimitri Staszewski

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Mongolian pastoralists were trying to remove troublesome teeth from horses’ mouths almost 3,200 years ago, making those mobile herders the earliest known practitioners of horse dentistry, a new study finds.