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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
A 5,500 year old artificial human tooth from Egypt: a historical note
1Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7720, USA. ffjdi@uaf.edu
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.
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