The humble wooden toothpick is one of the simplest of all manufactured items and is considered the oldest dental cleaning instrument, an instrument that encompasses more than just the human species.
Several higher primates use similar items to rub or pluck their teeth, and growing archaeological evidence from across Europe suggests that Neanderthals also had a habit of scraping food from their mouths. We know that because it left quite an impression on their teeth.
A newly analyzed tooth, discovered in a Polish cave in 2010, has now been found with a spindle-like groove on the side, indicating the in and out motion of a toothpick.
The dental measurements of the upper premolar and the radiocarbon dating of the area all suggest it once belonged to a male Neanderthal in his 30s who brushed his teeth this way as early as 46,000 years ago.
“It appears that the owner of the tooth was using oral hygiene. Probably there were food debris between the last two teeth that needed to be removed,” explains archaeologist Wioletta Nowaczewska from the University of Wroclaw in an article for Science in Poland.
‘We don’t know what he made a toothpick out of: a piece of a twig, a piece of bone or herringbone. It had to be a fairly stiff, cylindrical object that the person used often enough to leave a clear trail. “
(Nowaczewska et al., Journal of Human Evolution, 2021)
Above: a) The radial wear pattern on the inside of the premolar; b) A vertical toothpick groove visible under the wear facet, on the right.
A handful of other teeth have been found in the Stajnia Cave near Kraków, and these are also said to be from Neanderthals. Some of them even show similar attempts at prehistoric oral hygiene, although their deterioration makes them more difficult to study.
The remarkable condition of this newly analyzed molar now allows scientists to perform 2D and 3D analyzes of the enamel, which is generally thinner in Neanderthals compared to homo sapiens
Further mitochondrial DNA analysis has confirmed that this tooth probably belonged to a Neanderthal, and according to the authors, the tooth’s main groove was most likely caused by mechanical wear.
The location, shape, orientation and appearance of this scratch are all consistent with other signs of Neanderthals arguing with their teeth elsewhere in Europe.
In 2017, archaeologists announced the discovery of a unique Neanderthal tooth, found in what is now Croatia, that showed remnants of picking and chiselling from 130,000 years ago – possibly as a way to relieve pain.
In 2013, even older Neanderthal teeth, excavated in today’s Spain, were rediscovered with similar impressions. A fragment of wood was even found stuck between two of the molars.
Other materials Neanderthals may have used to brush their teeth include bones, tendons, and grass, although these have yet to be confirmed in the archaeological record.
According to the famous engineer Henry Petroski, who wrote an entire book on the toothpick, this modest tool is one of the most useful and ready-to-use tools in man’s possession. at least, it shouldn’t.
In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, are the very words that ultimately push the scientist Wonko into social hermitude, clues to toothpicks, believed to be the oldest human custom.
As Wonko noted, “any civilization that so far had lost its head to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a package of toothpicks was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay healthy.”
Even Neanderthals, it seems, who are stereotypically believed to be primitive beasts, had enough common sense and intuition to use the toothpick – without much clues.
The study is published in the Journal of Human Evolution.