title: Brief communication: prehistoric dentistry in the American southwest: a drilled canine from Sky Aerie, Colorado.
abstract: A prehistoric Native American mandible from a Fremont site (circa AD 1025) in Colorado has a conical pit in the worn occlusal surface of the lower right canine. Natural causes for this modification are ruled out by the presence of internal striae, a finding confirmed by experimental replication. The canine was artificially drilled before the individual's death and is associated with a periapical abscess. This is one of a very few examples of prehistoric dentistry in the world, and the first from the American Southwest.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of California, Berkeley 94720-3140, USA.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Degusta
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003120:Colorado; D003481:Cuspid / Q000601:surgery*; D003814:Dentistry, Operative / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000266:history*; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D010161:Paleodontology; D010508:Periodontal Abscess / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery