PISA, ITALY—The Local, Italy, reports that a team of paleopathologists from the University of Pisa found a denture dating to between the late fourteenth and early seventeenth centuries in the tomb of more than 200 members of the Giunigi family in Lucca’s convent of San Francesco. The denture consists of five canines and incisors obtained from different people, covered in a layer of metal. A strip of gold was attached at the base for wearing over the lower gums. A layer of tartar over the surface of the device indicates that it was used for a long period of time. Team member Simona Minozzi explained that scholars know about dentures from this period through historical descriptions, but this is the first known example of them. The team has not been able to match the prosthesis with a jaw from the grave. To read in-depth about the study of microbes in dental calculus, go to “Worlds Within Us.”
