Overview
- Researchers used non-destructive CT imaging to virtually remove preserved facial tissue and model the skull of a woman aged about 25 to 30.
- Scans show the right temporomandibular joint was destroyed, with two drilled bone channels—about 1.5 mm wide—linking the mandible and temporal bone.
- Residual elastic material in the channels, identified as likely tendon or hair, indicates ligatures were used to stabilize the lower jaw as a primitive prosthesis.
- Bone remodeling around the channels and pronounced wear on left-side teeth indicate she survived the operation and adapted functionally for months or years.
- The remains, excavated at the Verkh-Kaldzhin-2 cemetery on the Ukok plateau in Russia’s Altai, are described by the team as the earliest known oral implant, with the injury possibly from a fall from a horse.