Teeth and skull of a young adult male from 17th century Holland (IMAGE)

University of Cambridge

Teeth and skull of a young adult male from 17th century Holland

Caption

One of the samples of ancient herpes DNA used in the study came from a male of 26-35 years old, excavated near the banks of the Rhine. The man was a fervent smoker of clay pipes. Traces of the habit are visible in multiple places on the teeth, where the hard clay pipe, usually put in the same place in the mouth, has worn the teeth.

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Dr Barbara Veselka

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