No worries! Discussion is half the fun! I agree, you can definitely get wear on the cheek teeth from working textiles and other materials. The weird thing about the Pavlovian "labret" wear is that it isn't on the chewing surfaces where the wear from working materials like textiles is often found.
Thank you! A supplement (no paywall) and the main article have a lot of discussion of labret use in bioarchaeological, clinical, and ethnohistoric cases. Unfortunately, few papers systematically describe it. I tried to get all that info in one place to make comparisons easier in the future.
A few pages addressed other behaviors (teeth as tools) but they were not convincing for cheek surface wear. In previous work, I did show that the front teeth of some Pavlovians were used as "tools" to work things like hide. This was also a conclusion of previous research by Hillson and Vlcek.
One of my favorite teeth as tools articles! However, all the dental wear in this article is limited to the front of the mouth and not the cheek teeth. The first author, GR Scott, was cited as a personal communication for providing comparative labret wear photos from Alaska that I used.
Totally correct! Not a true OA article. Unfortunately, OA funding for 2025 was not available in Portugal until after the article was accepted. Anyone can read the full article here though: rdcu.be/d7iFG. The articles you highlight out are great as well!
O estudo está publicado no Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology e disponível em link.springer.com/article/10.1...
👩🦰👨🦰 Os povos recolectores do Paleolítico Superior na Europa Central podem ter sido pioneiros na modificação corporal permanente, utilizando piercings faciais conhecidos como “labrets”.
A conclusão é de um estudo do Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde da FCTUC.
#UCoimbra
🏺🧪🦣
Immensely interesting new, detailed and OA study suggesting cultural cheek piercing - like B in the image here, but one sided & potentially progressively enlarged from adolescence onwards - in a European 'Ice Age' culture 31.5-29.5 ka BP
Probable Use of Labrets [adornments through piercings] Among the Mid Upper Paleolithic Pavlovian Peoples of Central Europe link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Have a interesting project involving the study of human teeth? Want to present it at the EAA in Belgrade? Consider our session and message if you need more details!
If you want to read up on intentional body modification in the Upper Paleolithic for #FossilFriday here's a link to the newest work on probable use of labrets (facial piercings) among Pavlovian foragers from Central Europe: rdcu.be/d7iFG
I'm happy to know it will appear in some classrooms! Thanks!
