Restorers In Mexico Discover Real Human Teeth In 300-Year-Old Statue
Restorers with Mexico's National School of Restoration, Conservation and Museology have made an intriguing discovery with one of their statues, finding the 300-year-old wooden representation of Jesus contains real human teeth.
Fanny Unikel Santoncini, a restorer with the Instituto Nacional de AntropologÃa E Historia (INAH) in Mexico, told Live Science in a recent interview that researchers discovered a 300-year-old Christ of Patience statue in fact had real human teeth. The restorers made their discovery when performing X-rays on the statues to learn more about their creation.
Unikel told Live Science that it's possible the teeth either came from a living person or a dead person when they were inserted into the Christ of Patience statue, a wooden piece that shows a crucified, sitting Jesus with a mournful expression on his face. Although the statue's mouth is barely open, its creators were able to insert real human teeth into its gums.
"We have to remember that these people were very, very religious. They believed absolutely that there was a life after death and this was important for them," Unikel told Live Science.
She added that when she and other restorers first noticed the human teeth on the X-ray, they thought "'it's not possible!'" but shortly after she said: "'I am absolutely sure about this.'"
"For us, it seems mad," Unikel added, but "the way they thought about the body was different from ours."
Unikel confirmed in a video discussing the statue that the teeth were probably donated as a gesture of gratitude, as during that time many local residents would donate their hair for wigs for religious statues, as well as clothing and money.
