News Archaeology

First evidence of Neandertal dentistry found in ancient molar

The 59,000-year-old molar was drilled out to ease the pain of infection

Two views of a brown-and-yellow ancient molar are shown side by side. The first shows a drilled hole from the top, and the second shows the side profile of the tooth.

The ancient molar was found in the Chagyrskaya Cave in Siberia. It has been drilled out by a stone tool from the crown to near the roots.

bova et al., 2026, PLOS One (CC-BY 4.0)

By Tom Metcalfe

An ancient human molar shows that Neandertals sometimes drilled out infected teeth with stone tools — suggesting they may have known the treatment could ease extreme tooth pain.