Chew on this: Ancient Scandinavians tasted gum 10,000 years ago

Stone Age people of Huseby Klevy chewed birch pitch, but most likely to use it as glue in tools rather than for pleasure.

28 minutes ago
Jan Hoole, The Conversation

Chewing gum may seem like a modern habit but that is apparently not quite the case. Scientists have recovered DNA that is nearly 10,000 years old from gum that was chewed by people in Scandinavia during the Mesolithic – or Stone Age – period.

This gum was used as glue to make tools – the chewing is believed to have helped make it more pliable and sticky. They may not have chewed it for pleasure, but recreational chewing of resin and gum has been known of since ancient times. The gum itself was found at Huseby Klev, a Mesolithic site in western Sweden.

It’s difficult to find DNA from ancient specimens because it is so often degraded. Most samples of ancient DNA are obtained from bones or teeth. Such remains are rare and precious, so grinding them into powder to extract DNA is rarely encouraged. Material that is meant to be chewed but not swallowed has been found in many sites, but is often disregarded during excavations.

The knowledge that human DNA can be obtained from bits of old chewing gum is a breakthrough that offers fascinating possibilities for future work. Through this seemingly inconsequential scrap of ancient detritus come several fascinating insights into life 9,800 years ago.

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