Examples of dental inlays in the teeth of Maya individuals who lived centuries ago. These are not the teeth that were studied in the new paper.

Archaeologists already knew that adult Maya had tooth inlays, but this is some of the first evidence that children also had tooth bling.

Centuries ago, Maya children as young as 7 had 'tooth gems' - jade inlays in their teeth that likely symbolized social maturity or a rite of passage, a new study finds.