Classic Maya Dental Interventions

Abstract

Tooth extractions are among the most common dental procedures performed globally today; however, archaeological evidence for such procedures in the past is relatively scant and largely limited to the Classical world. We present a case of therapeutic dental extractions of pathological teeth at the ancient Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, during the Late Classic period (A.D. 600–800). The evidence comes from an assemblage of fractured, pathological teeth (n = 127) recovered from the marketplace at Piedras Negras during excavations in 2016 and 2017. We compare the Piedras Negras marketplace teeth to the broader Late Classic period mortuary population at the site along three lines of analysis: (1) distribution of teeth by type (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars), (2) pathologies, including dental caries and calculus, and (3) dental wear. We also explore in detail the fracture patterns apparent in the marketplace assemblage. Our results indicate that the marketplace teeth display a significantly greater caries rate than the broader mortuary population and that posterior teeth (premolars and molars) are overrepresented in the marketplace sample. These findings point toward therapeutic extractions intended to ameliorate pain associated with oral pathologies. This article presents one of the fewcase studies of ancient health care in the Americas and situates these practices within the market, an important, urban space across much of precolonial Mesoamerica.
 Las extracciones dentales se encuentran entre los procedimientos dentales más comunes realizados a nivel mundial en la actualidad. Sin embargo, la evidencia arqueológica para tales procedimientos es relativamente escasa en el pasado y se limita en gran medida al mundo Clásico. En este artículo, se presenta un caso de extracciones dentales terapéuticas de dientes patológicos en el antiguo sitio maya de Piedras Negras, Guatemala, durante el periodo Clásico Tardío (600-800 d.C.). La evidencia de este caso proviene de una colección de dientes patológicos y fracturados (n = 127) recolectados en el mercado de Piedras Negras durante las excavaciones realizadas en los años de 2016 y 2017. Estos dientes fueron comparados con otros dientes recolectados alrededor del sitio en contextos mortuorios del periodo Clásico Tardío a lo largo de tres líneas de análisis: (1) la distribución de los dientes por tipo (incisivos, caninos, premolares y molares), (2) las patologías, incluyendo caries dentales y cálculo y (3) el desgaste dental. Asimismo, se exploró en detalle los patrones de fractura aparentes en la colección del mercado. Los resultados de este análisis indican que los dientes del mercado muestran una tasa de caries significativamente mayor que los dientes recolectados en contextos mortuorios y que los dientes posteriores (premolares y molares) se encuentran sobrerrepresentados en la muestra proveniente del mercado. Estos hallazgos demuestran el uso de extracciones terapéuticas designadas a aliviar el dolor asociado a las patologías bucales. Este artículo presenta uno de los pocos estudios de caso de atención médica en el pasado en las Américas y sitúa estas prácticas dentro del mercado, un importante espacio urbano que se encuentra a través de la Mesoamérica precolombina.

Health Care in the Marketplace: Exploring Maya Medicinal Plants and Practices at Piedras Negras, Guatemala

“…Cucina and Tiesler (2011) described an extracted molar and a toothpick groove associated with large caries in two separate individuals at Xcambo, Yucatan. Relevant to our arguments here, Schnell and Scherer (2021) have documented dental extractions of pathological teeth on a large scale in the marketplace of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, as detailed further below.…”

“…In the absence of materia medica , scholars have long relied on iconographic and documentary evidence to fill gaps in knowledge about ancient medical practices. Prior to our research on the tooth extractions performed at the Piedras Negras marketplace (Schnell and Scherer 2021), no scholarship has attended to medical care in Maya marketplaces and the specific forms such practices take. Here, however, we integrate evidence from paleoethnobotanical residues with the broader archaeological context to suggest that the marketplace was both the site of exchange of medicinal goods as well as the locus of curative activities.…”

“…Over the course of the PPPNY excavations, an assemblage of nearly 4,800 fragments of human and animal bone was recovered, including an unusually large quantity of human teeth which have been demonstrated to represent the remains of therapeutic dental extractions (Schnell and Scherer 2021; Schnell et al 2017). The large number of teeth was all the more noteworthy given that not a single burial has been discovered in the Southeast Marketplace, thus, none of the material discussed in this article could have eroded from nearby mortuary contexts.…”

“…In addition to the sweatbaths in the Piedras Negras marketplace, further evidence for medical practices has recently been reported in the form of therapeutic tooth extractions (Schnell and Scherer 2021). The enormous assemblage of human and animal bone fragments recovered in the marketplace was analyzed by Schnell and Scherer (Schnell 2017; Schnell and Scherer 2021; Schnell et al 2017), who noted a large quantity of human teeth, many of which were fractured or otherwise fragmentary. These teeth also exhibited severe pathologies, usually in the form of very extensive caries.…”

“…We center our research on an area of the site that has come to be known as the Southeast Marketplace, a focal point of market activity during the Late Classic period ( a.d. 600–900). The manner by which Piedras Negras’ marketplace was identified is reported in recent publications by members of the Proyecto Paisaje Piedras Negras-Yaxchilan (Golden et al 2020; Roche Recinos 2021; Schnell and Scherer 2021). Here, we highlight several lines of evidence for medical practice in the Southeast Marketplace, including a cluster of monumental sweatbaths, extracted pathological teeth, and plant remains with medicinal properties, the latter of which are reported here for the first time.…”