BRIEF COMMUNICATION - PREHISTORIC DENTISTRY IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST- A DRILLED CANINE FROM SKY-AERIE, COLORADO

A prehistoric Native American mandible from a Fremont site (circa AD 1 025) in Colorado has a conical pit in the worn occlusal surface of the lower right canine. Natural causes for this modification are ruled ou t by the presence of internal striae, a finding confirmed by experimen tal replication. The canine was artificially drilled before the indivi dual's death and is associated with a periapical abscess. This is one of a very few examples of prehistoric dentistry in the world, and the first from the American Southwest. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.