Archaeologists now have a better understanding of why ritual tooth removal was practiced in ancient Taiwan and other parts of Asia — and it wasn't because people had bad teeth.
While tooth ablation has been documented among groups worldwide, it was most commonly associated with the first Austronesian communities, which included people in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Polynesia. The procedure was first introduced in this area about 4,800 years ago, during the Neolithic period, and continued until the early 20th century, according to a study published in the December 2024 issue of the journal Archaeological Research in Asia.
