The Enduring Practice of Dental Modification in the Ecuadorian Past

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Dental modification has been well-documented from the coast of Ecuador, with practices including elaborate dental inlays and incisions. However, few examples come from recently excavated or well-provenienced sites, making the antiquity and changing significance of dental modification unclear. Additionally, it is unclear whether this practice originated in Ecuador or was imported from Mesoamerica through well-established trade routes. This poster presents evidence of dental modification from Buen Suceso, a coastal Ecuadorian site with two occupational histories. First, we present what may be the oldest examples of Ecuadorian dental modification from two Valdivia burials (3800-1450 BC). These two individuals, a female adult and a non-adult, both presented a single incised line on each of their central incisors. Notably, these individuals pre-date the existence of known trade routes with Mesoamerica. Second, we present evidence of Manteño (AD 700 -1500) dental modification from two individuals and an associated stone bead artifact modified to look like a tooth. These modifications were more elaborate, with several horizontal and vertical incised lines. We argue that these examples of modification demonstrate the enduring and autochthonal practice of dental modification in Ecuador and the significant connection between dental modification and power over time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39036.0