Two dozen teeth from a 3rd millennium BC burial tell the story of a professional craftswoman in Egypt.
Nancy Lovell / University of Alberta
In the 1990s, new excavation by Nancy Lovell of the University of Alberta and her team produced additional bodies, for a total of 92. These burials appeared to be of middle-class people based on burial style. However, the grave of this particular older woman, which dated to 2181-2055 BC, was rich and elaborate compared to others in the area. Her skeleton had been placed in a wooden coffin, and her journey to the afterlife was outfitted with alabaster vessels, a bronze mirror, and cosmetics.
because"papyrus stalks were used for firewood, to make boxes and baskets for storage and transport of goods, and to make sandals, curtains, and floor mats," the researchers explain. Stripping off the outer rind of the papyrus stalk with the teeth would cause abrasions, but the microscopic bits of silica in the plant would also scour tooth enamel, hastening tooth wear and contributing to the unusual shape of this woman's front teeth.
Sonia Zakrzewski, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton, told me that this study is intriguing and noted that"too rarely have we as archaeologists actually considered the practicalities of using the reeds and who might be doing this. We can feel empathy for this woman and the likely pain she felt resulting from her excessive dental wear."
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