Throughout time, people have "worn" their teeth as some of their most precious ornaments. Precisely because of this, in many cultures, teeth have undergone changes countless times, acquiring various shapes and colors.
To this day, such local traditions are known in Bali as a rite of initiation for young people between the ages of 16 and 18. Such a practice symbolizes the entry into adult life. Such a procedure is believed to pacify six basic spiritual sins (among them greed, lust, avarice). And for this, six teeth are filed, including the fangs. The women of the Mentawai tribe, from the island of Sumatra, practice carving and sharpening their teeth, being convinced that this is the only way they become attractive. The procedure is performed without anaesthesia, by a local shaman, who, to make the ceremony as painful as possible, uses a chisel with a sharpened and blunt edge. The given ritual has been practiced for millennia at the request of entire generations of girls.
A human mandible with traces of such a ritual was discovered in the settlement of Cobîlnea "Stația" (Cobîlea village, Șoldănești district, year 1986) attributed to the Noua culture (late period of the Bronze Age, XV-XIII centuries BC). ). As a result of the anthropological analysis of the object, it was proven that the mandible belongs to a young man of European race, aged between 18 and 20 years old. The importance of this discovery lies in the rendering of an unusual practice for the communities of the Noua culture and in general for the prehistoric human populations that populated the Carpatho-Danubian-North Pontic space, namely - dental filing. The four incisor teeth are sectioned in half lengthwise, an operation performed shortly before the individual's death. It is not excluded that the mandible belonged to an allogene, which as a result of unknown circumstances arrived in this space and came into contact with the local population. But to verify such a hypothesis, a series of analyzes are needed (DNA, isotopic, 14C).
The grinding marks observed on some areas of the mandible do not exclude its use as a cult attribute (pendant) after the death of the individual.
Николай К. Анисюткин, Сергей Коваленко, Алиса Ларионова, Александр Очередной, Ксения Степанова, Андрей Чепалыга
Preliminary results of interdisciplinary research of the Early Paleolithic multilayered site of Bairaki in Transnistria in 2011- 2012
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The article is devoted to preliminary results of comprehensive research of the Early Paleolithic site of Bairaki, which was discovered in 2010 and investigated in 2011-2012. The work was conducted by a team of specialists from Russia and Republic of Moldova, including archaeologists (IHMC RAS, St. Petersburg; Institute of Cultural Heritage, ASM), geologists and paleogeographers (Institute of Geography and Geology RAS, Moscow). In the site there were found several layers of archaeological and paleontological finds associated with ancient deposits of the high 7th terrace above the flood plain of the Dniester.
According to the stratigraphy, there were two complexes - the early and the late. The first is associated with alluvial deposits, and the second - with the overlying ancient fossil soils. A few finds of the late complex are comparable to the stone artifacts of the "Dubăsari industry", the variety of regional Acheulian (500-700 thousands years old). More numerous finds of the early complex date back to the Late Eopleistocene (0.8-1.2 million years old), corre- sponding to the developed or classic Oldowan of Africa and Eurasia.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. A schematic map of the location of sites in the Lower Transnistria in the vicinity of Dubăsari: 1 - Bairaki; 2 - Bolshoy Fontan; 3 - Kretseshty.
Fig. 2. Section and plans of excavations in the Bairaki site. The section of the northeastern wall of the excavation.
Legend: 1 - Holocene layers; 2 - yellowish-brown loess loam; 3 - brown fossil soil; 4 - red-colored fossil soil; 5 - hydromorphic fossil soil; 6 - floodplain alluvium; 7 - oxbow deposits; 8 - deposits of channel alluvium; 9 - conglomerate. Plans of excavations in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The plan of the lower layer (excavation in 2012).
Fig. 3. 1 - General view of the ravine and site of Bairaki from the south; 2 - general view of the excavation from the opposite (western) slope of the gorge.
Fig. 4. Stone products of the late complex: 1 - flint pebble chopper (middle horizon); 2 - core with frost damage (upper horizon); 3 - slightly rounded scraper (upper horizon); 4 - Quina type retouched scraper on a fragment of flint (upper horizon); 5 - jasper pebble chopper (lower horizon).
Fig. 5. Stone products of the late complex: 1 - flint flake (middle horizon); 2 - retouched flint flake (middle horizon); 3 - core-like fragment scraper (middle horizon); 4 - lanceolate worked pebble (lower horizon); 5 - core with scraper working edge (upper horizon).
Fig. 6. Stone products of the early (Oldowan) complex: 1 - Cosăuți sandstone rounded lanceolate worked pebble; 2 - Cosăuți sandstone chopper with alternating treatment of the working edge; 3 - Devonian sandstone chopper with alternating treatment of the working edge; 4 - Cosăuți sandstone chopper with notched working edge.
Fig. 7. Stone products of the early (Oldowan) complex: 1-11 - flint flakes; 12 - a flake of quartz sandstone; 13-16 - nuclei and nucleoid forms (13 - with a scraping edge).
Fig. 9. Stone products of the early (Oldowan) complex: 1-5 - beaked burins (3 - combined with scraper); 6 - rounded and heavily crazed flint beaked point; 7 - almost rectangular scraper on a flint blade; 8 - beaked point on a Cosăuți sandstone pebble.
Николай К. Анисюткин
The stone industry particularities of the 3a layer from Trinca 1 grotto
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Throughout time, people have "worn" their teeth as some of their most precious ornaments. Precisely because of this, in many cultures, teeth have undergone changes countless times, acquiring various shapes and colors. To this day, such local traditions are known in Bali as a rite of initiation for young people between the ages of 16 and 18. Such a practice symbolizes the entry into adult life...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
