In the pre-Columbian era, people did not want to shave their heads, so they created special combs made of wood and bone to comb out lice. One of them was found in Chile.
People have suffered from lice since ancient times. Having passed from person to person, the lice clung to the hair with their claws and dug into the skin. The head itched, and the only way to get rid of the discomfort was to look for all the insects, each of which is no larger than millet, and their eggs - nits. Catching insects by hand was tiring, so many peoples made special frequent combs of wood and bone (including ivory) for combing out.
The ridges were often found in excavations in the Old World, and recent research in Chile has shown that the Indians also used them. After examining a collection of double-sided reed ridges that were used by the inhabitants of river valleys in the Atacama Desert between 500 and 1500, scientists found traces of lice and nits on them.
Earlier, since most combs were found in women's graves, it was believed that they served to create complex hairstyles or were used in weaving. However, the study of the ridges, the size of which was several times larger than usual, showed that they were intended specifically for combing out insects. In the pre-Columbian era, people, as well as now, did not want to shave their heads, although this is the easiest way to get rid of nits. “As bad as the scabies was, everyone preferred to put up with lice so they didn't get bald,” said study leader Bernando Arrias of Tarapaca University.