CWRU School of Dental is an American dental education facility with quite an unusual type of summer research program for students – an archeological site in Manot Cave, Western Galilee, Israel.
CWRU established this collaboration in 2012, costing about $ 20,000 annually. Its dean, Jerold Goldberg, said that with this practice because he "wanted people to understand the breadth and intellectual interest that dental schools have."
Such summer practice contributes not only to students' education but also to anthropology – recently, a collaborative group of local scientists and university practicians unearthed an ancient trace of the early Sapiens ritual.
Why this initiative is useful, how it works, and what scientists discovered this time – read below!
Trace of the Past
Manot Cave is a more than 55,000-year-old living space of ancient humans and Neanderthals. The university sends 10-20 students each year to help with excavations. Despite the lack of archeology experience, they, considering their specializations, can easily find bone fragments among the rocks and solids.
Dentists are particularly needed in archeological excavations because teeth are much harder than bones, allowing them to last longer without a trace of erosion. Thus, a specialist can easily define the morphological features of the sample and its owner. Orthodontists specializing in facial development, in turn, can effectively identify anthropological specimens.
The Importance of Summer Practice
In addition to the practical knowledge of skull and facial features gained during the excavations and sample analysis, students also have the opportunity to network with students and scientists from other disciplines, such as zoology, geology, other medical fields, etc., which may enhance their future careers.
CWRU summer practice became quite popular among other education facilities, and students from other universities began applying to join their teams.
Of course, the scientific community also highly benefits from this initiative; thus, in 2015, CWRU researchers were involved in discovering a 55,000-year-old skull that provided evidence of interbreeding between early Sapiens and Neanderthal.
This year, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, scientists found here a 36,000-year-old stone that represents an ancient spiritual attribute in local society.
