Old Tooth Shows Early Dental Work

May 13, 2026, 19:00
AsiaScience

Introduction

Scientists found a Neanderthal tooth in Russia. The tooth is 59,000 years old. It has a small hole from a tool.

Main Body

The tooth came from a cave. Scientists used special machines to look at it. They saw a hole in the tooth. This hole was not an accident. A person made it with a stone tool. Someone used the tool to fix a bad part of the tooth. This helped the person feel better. The person lived for a long time after this. They used the tooth to eat food. This is very important. Before this, people thought only modern humans fixed teeth. Now we know Neanderthals did it first. They were smart and helped each other.

Conclusion

Neanderthals fixed teeth many thousands of years before modern humans.

Learning

💡 The 'Action' Words (Past Tense)

In this story, everything happened a long time ago. To talk about the past, we often add -ed to the end of the word.

  • Fix → Fixed
  • Help → Helped

Watch out! Some words are 'rebels' and change completely. You must memorize these:

  • Find → Found
  • See → Saw
  • Is → Was

🛠️ Using 'The' for Specific Things

We use 'The' when we are talking about one specific thing that we already mentioned.

  1. Scientists found a tooth. (Any tooth, first time we mention it)
  2. The tooth is 59,000 years old. (Now we know which specific tooth we mean)

Pattern: A/An (General) →\rightarrow The (Specific)

Vocabulary Learning

scientist (n.)
a person who studies or works in science
Example:The scientist studied the ancient tooth.
tooth (n.)
a hard part of the jaw that is used for chewing
Example:The tooth was very old.
hole (n.)
an opening or empty space in something
Example:There was a small hole in the tooth.
tool (n.)
an object used to do a particular job
Example:The tool was made of stone.
cave (n.)
a large underground space in the earth
Example:They found the tooth in a cave.
machine (n.)
a device that uses power to do work
Example:The machine helped them look at the tooth.
person (n.)
a human being
Example:The person who used the tool was a Neanderthal.
stone (n.)
a hard piece of rock
Example:The stone tool was sharp.
fix (v.)
to repair or mend something
Example:They used the tool to fix the tooth.
part (n.)
a piece of something that makes up a whole
Example:The tooth had a bad part that needed fixing.
feel (v.)
to experience an emotion or sensation
Example:The person felt better after the repair.
better (adj.)
more good or improved
Example:The repair made the tooth better.
long (adj.)
lasting a long time
Example:The person lived for a long time after the repair.
eat (v.)
to consume food
Example:They used the tooth to eat food.
food (n.)
what we eat
Example:Food was scarce in the cave.
important (adj.)
of great value or significance
Example:This discovery is very important.