According to his Wikipedia entry: ”Liss was born in Oldenburg (Holstein) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. After an initial education in his home state, he continued his studies, according to Houbraken, with Hendrick Goltzius in Haarlem andAmsterdam. Around 1620 he travelled through Paris to Venice. He moved to Rome around 1620-2, and his first works there were influenced by the style of Caravaggio.”
Johann Liss: Medieval Dentist removing tooth Source: Wikimedia.org
And here is Caravaggio’s take on the same theme although the attribution to Caravaggio is controversial:
Caravaggio: The Tooth Puller Source: Caravaggio.com
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO9XWxZ2KIM
I found this blog in the course of my search for material. I do not know the author but the information seems interesting. It gave me a whole new perspective to the famous “getting medieval” dialog in Pulp Fiction. Again send any updates, corrections etc. my way. Again, as I use my digital Xray sensor, I can’t believe how far this profession has progressed.
The 9000 year old tooth. Source: National Geographic
Dental work from the Stone Age. Surely this predates the Indus Valley Civilization which was in the same region. Was it a precursor? Can’t be sure but the tooth is proof that dentists were busy even such a long time ago.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0405_060405_teeth_drill_2.html
If anyone finds out more about I would be very interested. The diligence of this early practitioner of the craft is as astonishing as it is touching.
I found many but only had time to check out a couple:
A History of Dentistry by James Anderson Taylor
A history of dentistry from the most ancient times until the end of the Eighteenth Century by Vincenzo Guerini
Let me know if you have something interesting to share.
Hi this is Dr. Evy Migadaki of Evydent Dentistry. I decided to set up this site after the resounding success of my booth, Ye Olde Familie Dentist, at yesterday’s Medieval Fest. A lot of people seemed really interested in age-old dental practices. Being a product of today’s ultramodern profession of CT scans, CEREC machines and cosmetic dentistry, I sometimes find it hard to believe that my profession has made so much progress in such a short while. As a lot of visitors said at the Festival yesterday, we are lucky to be born in times when a cavity does not have to result in the unimaginable pain that our ancestors must have endured. Let me begin this blog by posting some of the sources I used to educate myself for yesterday’s Festival. Just to clarify, I am not an expert in this field. Nor have I conducted original research in the history of dentistry. I am, however, very curious about the history of my profession, and my training does enable me to appreciate the challenges that these early practitioners of my craft must have faced. If you have some photos, videos or articles to share please post them or my blog or send me email.
