01512nas a2200337   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002100080653002700101653001700128653001000145653002200155653001100177653002100188653001100209653001200220653000900232653002200241653001900263653001900282653001100301653001900312100001300331245004000344300001100384490000800395520075700403022001401160       2005                            d  c2005 Dec10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAge Distribution10aAnthropology, Cultural10aBone Density10aChild10aEsthetics, Dental10aFemale10aHistory, Ancient10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMortuary Practice10aPaleodontology10aPaleopathology10aSweden10aTooth Diseases1 aArcini C00aThe Vikings bare their filed teeth.  a727-330 v1283 a<p>Finds of deliberate dental modification have for the first time been found in archaeological human skeletal material from Europe. The type of modification is a horizontally filed furrow on the frontal upper part of the tooth crown. The furrows are single or, more usually, multiple, and are found on the front teeth in the maxilla. The affected individuals are 24 men from the Viking Age (ca. 800-1050 AD), found in present day Sweden and Denmark. The marks are so well-made that it is most likely they were filed by a person of great skill. The reason for, and importance of, the furrows are obscure. The affected individuals may have belonged to a certain occupational group (such as tradesmen), or the furrows could have been pure decoration.</p>  a0002-9483