title: A 5,500 year old artificial human tooth from Egypt: a historical note.
abstract: Archaeological excavations at a Neolithic cemetery near Gebel Ramlah, Egypt yielded, among other finds, a life-size shell carving of a human tooth. Based on its spatulate crown and large conical root, the tooth most closely emulates a maxillary incisor. The crown's lingual and labial surfaces are suggestive of a left central incisor, whereas the occlusal view is more reminiscent of a left lateral incisor. The present report details the tooth's appearance and provides several interpretations concerning its function, including the possibility that it was intended to be a dental implant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7720, USA. ffjdi@uaf.edu
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Irish
mesh_terms: D015921:Dental Implants / Q000266:history; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010161:Paleodontology; D014093:Tooth, Artificial / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants