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LiveScience
LiveScience
Tom Metcalfe

7-year-old Maya child had green jade 'tooth gem,' new study finds

A display of four human teeth with inlaid stones.

Centuries ago, Maya children as young as 7 had "tooth gems" — jade inlays in their teeth that likely symbolized social maturity or a rite of passage, a new study finds.

Archaeologists already knew that pre-Hispanic Maya adults often sported tooth inlays. But "what is tantalizing is the young age of the individuals" analyzed in the new research, the authors wrote in the study.

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