How Does This Ancient Chewing Gum Told The Life of a Paleolithic Woman?

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The assumed appearance of Lola based on the human DNA extracted from the birch pit.

It is just a stone age version of chewing gum, yet it contains so much information that made scientists understand more about our ancestor's physiology. 

A study published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications talked about a small hunk of brownish-black pitch found at the Syltholm site on Lolland, Denmark. 

Theis Jensen, the author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen's Globe Institute, called the site "completely unique" since organic remnants were well preserved in mud.

The site might contain a lot of fossilized residues. However, no human remains have been discovered so far, which is why Jensen thought these preserves are highly phenomenal.

Derived from a heated birch tree bark, it was initially used as glue about 760,000 years ago. However, scientists believed that Paleolithic people chew it too, due to the teeth marks found on the remnants.

An Ancient Glue and Chewing Gum

Ancient people used to create birch pitch to attach their stone tools. However, it solidifies quickly as soon as it cooled down, and scientists believed that chewing it can keep it soft.

But there is also a theory that birch pitch can serve as an anti-inflammatory agent for toothache since it contains betulin, which has antiseptic and regenerative properties.

Lastly, just like in the modern era, these ancient people might also chew it to ease off their hunger, as the site is highly exploited, resulting in a lower food source prior to the era of agriculture. 

Chewing for recreational purposes was also considered.

A Time Capsule

According to the study, these small lumps are scattered all over the archeological sites in Scandinavian region, including the Syltholm site situated in the fourth largest island of Denmark.

And these contain so many vital organic matters -- like oral microbiome and DNA -- that scientists called it a time capsule.

The sample the authors used contains the DNA of a female ancient human that has traits like skin and eye color closer to the hunter-gatherers from the European mainland, instead of those who were in central Scandinavia. They named it Lola, named after Lolland.

Study co-author Hannes Schroeder, associate professor from the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said that it was amazing to extract a complete Paleolithic human genome from any other sources aside from bones.

Scientists were also able to identify the diet of this ancient girl, such as hazelnuts and ducks, which are possible her staple foods.

The bacteria that reside on her mouth were also identified: Epstein-Barr virus, a Herpes virus that can cause glandular fever, and a strand that looks similar to pneumonia-inducing pathogen.

Lola might also be chewing it to ease her gum disease, since some inflammatory bacteria were found on the gum.

But the most important discovery was probably lactose intolerance, which could prove that ancient humans cannot digest cattle milk before dairy farming became a trend in the Neolithic era.

The difference of their lifestyle can be seen in how the microbiomes adapt and became harmful to them, Schroeder explained. He also said that by observing its evolution, we might be able to predict its behavior in the future and allow us to develop methods to contain or eradicate it.

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