About the Cover Art
Scythian Vase Depicting a Dentist at Work from Kul'-Oba Kurgan, Crimea The gold or electrum Scythian vase depicting a dentist at work on the front cover of this edition dates from the 4th century BC and is from the Kul’-Oba Kurgan in Crimea. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver with trace amounts of copper. The artistic form is attributed to the Greek School. It is the property of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Scyths were ancient Iranian nomads who inhabited a region known as Scythia, an area vaguely extending from Northeast Greece above the Black Sea and into the Ukraine. The words Kul-Oba are Crimean and mean “hill of ash.” A Kurgan is a burial tomb. The Kul-Oba was the first Scythian royal barrow excavated in modern times. The stone tomb, built in 400 to 350 BC by Greek masons, was opened in 1830. The archeologists didn’t suspect that there was a large room filled with antiquities under the tomb. This room was discovered by treasure hunters and plundered but the Russian government was eventually able to retrieve much of the stolen material which is now in the Hermitage. It is interesting that this vase was created during the life of Hippocrates, the father of medicine. There are many references by Hippocrates to the teeth, the mouth, oral conditions and diseases as well as recommended treatments, almost all of which indicated extraction. He believed that the primary teeth were “formed by the nourishment of the fetus in the womb, and after birth by the mother’s milk.” The milk teeth? He thought that swelling was the cause of dental disease rather than the result. If the tooth was painful and loose it should be extracted, but if painful and yet firm it should be cauterized. Is it any wonder that, as in our Scythian vase, dentists of old were almost always portrayed extracting a tooth? Front Cover Art Credit: Scythian vase from Kul'-Oba Kurgan, Crimea, depicting a dentist at work, 4th century BC (gold or electrum), Greek School, (4th century BC) / Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia / Archives Charmet / The Bridgeman Art Library International