Etruscans and the History of Dentistry

Marshall Joseph Becker is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at West Chester University, USA, and is a Distinguished Member of the American Anthropological Association.Jean MacIntosh Turfa is a Consulting Scholar in the Mediterranean Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, USA, and a Foreign Member of the Istituto di Studi Etruschi, Italy.

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsBackground: the main ancient cultures associated with dental appliances listed in alphabetic order IntroductionChapter 1. Dentistry in medical history: classical roots Chapter 2. Evidence from the ancient Near East: correcting misconceptions Chapter 3. The dental prosthesis: a lost Etruscan inventionChapter 4. Dental appliances and dentistry after the Etruscans, to the present dayChapter 5. Catalogue of Etruscan and Roman-era dental appliancesChapter 6. Concluding remarksAppendices:Appendix I – Uncertain examples of Etruscan dental appliances Appendix II – Modern Copies of Etruscan dental appliancesAppendix III – Spurious examples of dental implants or appliancesAppendix IV – Amulets and votives resembling or incorporating teethAppendix V – Pliny on cures for oral pathologiesAppendix VI – Evidence for dental extractions in ancient Rome: a summary of the analysis of teeth excavated at the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman forum Appendix VII – Report on analysis of gold bands in Liverpool appliances (nos. 13 and 14) BibliographyIndex

"This study is vitally important for our knowledge of the history of dentistry, especially for the Etruscan period. It is extensively researched and combines the subjects of biological anthropology, medical history and material cultural studies to provide a rounded approach to the history of dentistry. This book is a valuable contribution to scholarship on ancient perceptions of dental health and conceptions of beauty and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the medical humanities."- Patty Baker, Senior Lecturer in Classical and Archaeological Studies, University of Kent, UK"Becker and Turfa’s book celebrates Etruscan gold-band dental appliances, ancient prostheses that should be better known ... Becker and Turfa’s book is written in a lively style with ample sign-posting for scholars "reading around," but has also been well-designed for non-classicists, both scholars of dental history and interested lay-people. The authors have crafted a unified, mostly smooth voice that invites readers into the denser discussions and punctuates these with vivid vignettes of ancient life, especially dental pain; footnotes are minimal and comparative evidence thoughtfully deployed."- Clara Bosak-Schroeder, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2017