The hard palate (or palatine vault) is a horizontal bony sheet, a septum, that not only prevents food from entering between the oral and nasal cavities, but also plays an important role during breathing or speaking. But there are cases of fetuses in which, during pregnancy, the tissue in that area does not completely join and remains open. It’s what doctors call a cleft palate.
Babies with this type of condition usually have difficulties feeding and speaking clearly. In addition, they may also have hearing and dental problems. Currently these problems are solved with surgery in the first months of life. But in the past, palatal prostheses were the most common.
In the 18th century, in Poland, a 50-year-old man was buried in the church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Krakow. The individual’s remains showed that he had a cleft palate and archaeologists even found part of the corrective appliance inside his mouth.
“This is the first case in Poland (and probably in Europe) in which a person is found with an oral obturator adapted to their needs,” detail the researchers who have analyzed the surprising object in an article published in the Journal of Archaeological magazine. Science: Reports.
“The macroscopic study showed the presence of an elliptical-shaped metallic diaphragm that was made of a copper alloy covered with a layer of silver and gold, and a textile ‘tampon’ that entered the nasal cavity. Comparison of this shutter with other examples from medical literature indicates its great similarity to those used between the 16th and 18th centuries,” the experts write.
The exceptional prosthesis with a wool pad sewn to the metal plate is 3.1 centimeters long and weighs about 5.5 grams. “It is difficult to know today how the plug was adjusted or whether the seal it provided was tight enough,” the researchers note in the study.
“However, modern patients who struggle with similar health problems describe the use of a prosthesis that provides improvements in speech (which becomes clearer) and greater comfort when eating,” add the specialists on the team led by the anthropologist Anna Spinek.
Researchers found the prosthesis during excavations carried out between 2017 and 2018. After a physical examination and a CT scan, they saw that the man’s jaw was characteristic of a cleft palate. When they removed the shutter they noticed that a fiber pad had flecks of yellow (probably gold) and green (probably copper), which were inadvertently removed during the preservation process.
The wool pad was likely covered with a thin sheet of copper and then gold to help prevent infection by blocking secretions that could penetrate through the fabric.
To determine the composition of the prosthesis, the researchers analyzed it under a scanning electron microscope, which greatly magnifies the surface of an object, and with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, which analyzes the chemical composition of a sample.
They discovered that the metal pieces were largely made of copper, but that it also used considerable amounts of both gold and silver. The wool had traces of silver iodide, which could have been added for its antimicrobial properties.
Orofacial clefts, which include cleft palate and cleft lip, have a worldwide prevalence of one case per 1,000 or 1,500 births in modern times. It is documented that the Greek orator Demosthenes (384 to 322 BC) already had a cleft palate and it is speculated that he used pebbles to fill the void, according to the authors of the study.
Several works from the 16th century also suggest the use of combinations of cotton, wax, gold, silver, wool, and sponges to repair an orofacial cleft. These rare devices were unique and custom made by dentists. As they were made of precious metals, only people from the richest social classes could afford to purchase them.
The precision of the prosthesis also indicates that the person who made it had great skill and that the shutter is made of very fine and delicate metals that are not at all easy to work with like modern materials. And yet, he managed to adapt perfectly to the congenital anomaly.
