Stone Age chewing gum discovery reveals DNA of teenage girl in Estonia

Historian Bettany Hughes described the discovery as ‘profoundly remarkable’. Photo / Channel 4

A piece of Stone Age gum chewed by a teenage girl 10,500 years ago has been discovered by archaeologists.

The Institute of History and Archaeology at the University of Tartu, Estonia, found that the prehistoric birch tar had impressions of teeth marks and traces of saliva.

The historian who made the discovery said it was “relatable but profoundly remarkable” to find evidence of teenagers first chewing gum thousands of years ago.

After extracting DNA from the saliva, the Institute of Genomics found that the gum was probably chewed by a teenage girl with brown hair and brown eyes.

Birch tar is a substance that is synthesised by the dry distillation of bark from a birch tree. It was also used as an adhesive.

Northern European myth busted

The discovery was unveiled by Bettany Hughes, a prominent historian, in an episode of her TV programme Treasures of the World.

Speaking about the discovery, the 58-year-old said: “Having access to the team’s research was a really magical moment.

“This shows how one throwaway item can bring us face-to-face with the people of the past.

“We now know people chewed tar – burnt or heated silver-birch bark – for things like relieving toothaches and as glue. It’s still used as an adhesive today.

“We even know she had brown eyes and hair, which I love because it challenges the assumption that Northern Europeans had fair hair and blue eyes.

“It’s such a relatable but profoundly remarkable thing. A Stone Age teenager chewing gum.”

The world’s oldest-known synthetic material, birch bark tar’s use as an adhesive goes as far back as the Middle Palaeolithic. It also has antiseptic properties, scientists say.

It is currently used in cosmetics for skin and hair problems, as an insect repellent and in fragrances.

Gum signposts what we used to eat

Last year another discovery was made of its use as chewing gum by teenagers in Sweden 10,000 years ago.

Found next to bones at the Huseby Klev archaeological site north of Gothenburg, Sweden, scientists said the gum was mostly chewed by teenagers.

The DNA testing was able to determine the diet of the Stone Age teenagers which included deer, trout, hazelnuts, apples, duck and fox.

In one piece chewed by a teenage girl, scientists found a number of bacteria indicating a severe case of periodontitis, a gum infection.

Whereas Stone Age chewing gum contained antiseptic and healing properties, modern chewing gum contains microplastics, leading scientists to warn against its use.

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