Dental wear provides valuable evidence for reconstructing past human behaviour, including diet abrasiveness and non-masticatory activities such as the use of teeth as a “third hand”. This study investigates activity-induced dental modifications (AIDMs) in two adult human skeletons recovered from a 15th–19th-century necropolis at the St. Athanasius Church in Niculițel (Tulcea County, Romania). Dental remains and associated dental calculus were examined using low- and high-magnification optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Well-polished grooves with parallel striations were identified on the incisor crowns, consistent with repetitive extra-masticatory activities related to fibre drafting during spinning and textile production. Dental calculus analysis revealed the presence of plant and animal fibres, providing direct micro-contextual evidence for textile-related practices. These results offer new insights into the use of teeth as tools and contribute to the reconstruction of textile-related craft activities during the Ottoman and early modern periods in southeastern Europe.
Ciorpac-Petraru et al. (Thu,) studied this question.