【#Tech24H】In a cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, Russia, paleoanthropologists discovered a Neanderthal lower molar with a deep, rough hole. Around the cave, traces of stonetool sharpening were found, and pointed stone tools unearthed alongside are likely the drills used by a prehistoric dentist. Through highresolution scanning and comparison, scientists inferred that this “dentist” carefully scraped away decayed tissue from the tooth using a stone tool. To reconstruct the procedure, researchers at the University of Arizona simulated it with tools made of similar materials. They found that such a treatment would have taken at least 35 to 50 minutes, considering that Neanderthals had larger pulp cavities than modern humans and no anesthesia was available. Previous evidence has shown that Neanderthals used toothpicks and chewed medicinal plants, but this “surgically treated” tooth further suggests that their cognitive abilities and social cooperation might have been far more complex and intelligent than previously thought.  [ By Zhang Liyan | Tang Ruohan ]