Chapter 13: Ancient Civilizations of Peru

Continuing my review of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price...

photo by alex.val

How did Weston A. Price's mind work? It seems he wasn't just an average fellow. When he looked at Maccu Piccu, he knew that it "probably represents the highest development of engineering, ancient and in some respects modern, on the American continent." (p.209) But he wasn't content with that observation - indeed, anyone might readily see this - but Price wanted to know what kind of people were capable of making this place. That is what drives him - he wants to know how great peoples are great, from a health standpoint. He wants to know what sort of human beings were strong enough and healthy enough to make Maccu Piccu.

Figure 83

Figure 83 (p.212) shows a perfect arch in an ancient skull. The 3rd molars (wisdom teeth) are formed perfectly and nothing is out of place. There's hardly a North American today that can say the same! Price asks the reader to look at the "broad sweep of the dental arches and freedom from tooth decay." (p.213)

I don't remember the history of my teeth and don't have a comprehensive record, but I do know that I have had many trips to dentists and many fillings. As for wisdom teeth, I must have had two pulled on the bottom, as I have 16 teeth on my top and only 14 on the bottom. Susan had all of her wisdom teeth pulled (surgically extracted). They just looked at the x-ray and told her parents that there was no room for them to come in - so they were pulled before they even broke through the gum line. The same for her friends.

my teeth

My dental arch is poorly formed and my teeth have always been crowded. As you can see from this photo, my 3rd teeth top & bottom, left & right are all sticking out and too long. When I was young, I had the nickname of "Dracula" because my canines stuck out even when my lips were closed. Also, you can see a gap between my upper and lower front teeth - even though my jaw is clenched shut. And this is after having had an appliance in for several months when I was about 12. Part of the problem has been my enlarged tongue, which continually pushes those teeth apart, but it is  clear that there were other problems in the development of my arches.

According to Price, the ancient Peruvians ate seafood, plant food, llama, alpaca, guinea pigs, potatoes, corn, beans and quinoa. Sounds pretty good to me!