Prehistoric evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo has so far been limited to isolated cases from less than six millennia ago^{1, 2, 3}. Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500–9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture.

1. Dipartimento BAU, Università 'La Sapienza', 00185 Rome, Italy
2. Sezione di Antropologia, Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico 'L. Pigorini', 00144 Rome, Italy
3. Facultad de Ciencias Antropologicas, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, 455 LL 41–43 Centro Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
4. Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence 66045-2110, USA
5. Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 75116 Paris, France
6. Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
7. Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, 00184 Rome, Italy
8. Laboratoire GBPH, UMR 6046, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers, France

Correspondence to: R. Macchiarelli⁸ Email: roberto.macchiarelli@univ-poitiers.fr

Received 22 November 2005 | Accepted 1 March 2006 |