Ancient Secrets Unveiled: 10,000-Year-Old ‘Chewing Gum’ Reveals Scandinavia’s Oldest Human DNA
Ever wonder what ancient Scandinavians chewed on while crafting tools or contemplating life 10,000 years ago? Spoiler alert: It wasn’t bubble gum. In a twist worthy of an archaeological detective story, researchers hit the jackpot finding human DNA—not in bones, but nestled within a piece of chewed-up birch bark. That’s right, prehistoric “gum” has turned out to be a time capsule, unlocking secrets about the region’s Mesolithic inhabitants when actual human remains are as rare as a Wi-Fi signal in the Stone Age. It’s like the ancient equivalent of a DNA swab… only stickier. This little masticated marvel, excavated decades ago but recently analyzed with modern wizardry, has finally shed light on who was living, what they ate, their health, and even trade routes between Ice Age Europe and Russia. So, next time you absentmindedly chew on something, remember: you might just be leaving a genetic breadcrumb for future historians! LEARN MORE
With a lack of ancient human bone excavations in the region, finding human DNA within this piece of chewed-up birch bark was a huge victory.
Natalija Kashuba Et. Al/Stockholm UniversityIn the early Mesolithic Era, birch bark tar was commonly used as glue in tool production.
Researchers excavated a piece of 10,000-year-old birch bark in Sweden in the early 1990s in the hopes of uncovering a trove of DNA. Why would birch bark be full of human DNA? Well, the tree was used as an ancient form of chewing gum which could, in turn, shed some light on life in ancient Scandinavia.
Unfortunately, the technology to properly analyze the item’s DNA simply wasn’t available back then, and seeing as ancient human DNA in Scandinavia has been tremendously difficult to find, the potential behind these chewed bits of bark held great significance to researchers. According to Phys, times have at last changed and a new study conducted at Stockholm University has finally been able to unlock the ancient biological secrets within that birch bark.
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