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Neanderthals make me feel better about seeing my dentist

Bennett Sherry

I totally missed this back in May, but maybe because I just dragged myself to the dentist, I stumbled on the news that, apparently, Neanderthals might have been doing invasive dentistry 59,000 years ago??? https://www.npr.org/2026/05/13/nx-s1-5815047/neanderthal-tooth-dentistry-cavity-drill 

And we're not just talking pulling teeth. This was a root canal! Conducted with a rock! I owe my dentist an apology and maybe a fruit basket. 

For World History teachers planning units on early humans, I'm wondering: does the steady drip of new Neanderthal discoveries ever change how you approach those early units? We know that they made art and buried their dead. But root canals??

At the very least, discoveries like this, with the limited evidence available to researchers, make for really good claim testing opportunities. Plenty of archeologists doubt the intent behind the hand holding the stone-age dental drill... I can't decide if that makes it better or worse!

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    While my state (NC) starts the curriculum at 1200 CE, I find that it’s great to incorporate gems like this into class discussions regardless of the time period. Not only can I leverage the discovery itself for engagement purposes, but it’s also a perfect moment to incorporate in some low-stakes CCOT practice.

    "Okay class… you think YOU hate going to the dentist? Wait until you hear about literal Neanderthal dentistry."

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    I think it's completely plausible that they stumbled their way into an effective root canal (and potentially recreated it for future dental needs). We know that experiencing physical pain causes our body to release natural painkillers, so (and this is purely a guess) they may have found grinding with a stone tool to be therapeutic. Do it long enough and you get rid of the root.