四川会理猴子洞新石器时代遗址拔牙风俗初探

作为一种仪式现象，有意识拔除健康牙齿以表达某些信息的拔牙行为在世界范围内都有广泛分布，年代从旧石器时代一直延续至近现代。根据以往研究，我国境内拔牙风俗有自己的源流系统，最早可以追溯到新石器时代大汶口文化居民中，并从黄河下游和长江下游之间的山东-苏北大汶口文化分布地区向南、西南方向传播，但西南地区的拔牙风俗出现较晚，多集中在历史时期。猴子洞遗址是四川会理县的一处最早距今约5000~4800年的新石器时代遗址，墓葬区出土的人骨标本上发现了比例很高的拔牙现象，弥补了过去西南地区拔牙风俗在史前资料上的不足。对猴子洞遗址先民拔牙现象的观察和拔牙模式分析表明，该遗址拔牙出现率没有明显的性别和社会等级差异，但拔牙行为与年龄密切相关，应是成年的标志。通过与中国境内和东南亚地区拔牙遗址的对比分析，西南地区的拔牙风俗至少在新石器时代已经开始流行，其模式符合中国拔牙风俗的主流传统，但与东南亚地区也有很多相似性。

The custom of tooth ablation in Neolithic site of Monkey Cave in Huili County,Sichuan Province

As a ritual phenomenon, tooth ablation is the deliberate removal of one's healthy teeth to express some meanings, which has been recorded around the world dating from the Paleolithic Age to modern times. According to previous studies, the custom of tooth ablation in China has its own origin and can be traced back as early as to the Neolithic Age in the residents of Dawenkou culture locating in the region of Shandong Province and northern Jiangsu Province, as well as the the custom of tooth ablation diffused to south and southwest from the region between the lower Yellow River and the lower Yangtze River. The custom of tooth ablation in Southwest China appeared late and was quite close to the time of written history.