Like eager boys in a Hallowe'en cabbage patch, Dr. Arnold Sack's assistants at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, twisted the blackened heads off his Egyptian mummies so that he could better study them for traces of ancient afflictions. The oldest skulls, now weazened and leather-covered, showed teeth in perfect condition. People of 4,000 to 6,000 years ago ate coarse foods which prevented dental decay. But by the time of the Christian Era, Egyptian life was luxurious, food was soft. Consequently tooth decay was as prevalent as today. One batch of 500 mummies showed...
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