Stone Age 'chewing gum' reveals the life of a girl who lived 5,700 years ago

The traces of DNA left in the birch tar, which the girl chewed like "chewing gum," revealed many things about her genome and her living habits.

Lola , a young girl who lived in Denmark 5,700 years ago, has blue eyes, dark skin and dark hair. Her last meal included hazelnuts and duck meat but no milk - she could not digest the milk.

Scientists know all this because she chewed the tar made from birch bark, which functions almost like today's chewing gum , according to CNN.

An ancient study of birch tar has discovered the entire genome and microbiota in the girl's mouth, marking the first time human genetic material has been successfully extracted from something. apart from human bones. The research was published on December 17 in the journal Nature Communications.

Photo restored Lola.(Photo: CNN).

Aries tar tar was used as a glue by humans in the Paleolithic about 760,000 years ago. It was made by heating birch bark, and in the process they discovered that they could chew it - as indicated by the tooth mark on the remains of an ancient tar.

Archaeologists from the Lolland-Falster Museum found a large black brown birch tar at the Syltholm site on the Danish island of Lolland. Syltholm is the largest Stone Age site in the country.

By extracting DNA from the lump, the researchers knew that it had been chewed by a woman who is genetically related to a hunter-gatherer from continental Europe, not humans. in central Scandinavia. Certain genes tell them her hair, skin and eye color are similar to other hunter-gatherers in Europe.

"It's amazing to have a complete ancient human genome from anything other than bones," said Hannes Schroeder, research author and associate professor at the Earth Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

"Moreover, we get DNA from oral bacteria and some important human pathogens. These are valuable sources of ancient DNA, especially in times when we don't. find human remains ".

The plant and animal DNA found in tar also revealed that the girl had eaten hazelnuts and duck meat, which is likely the main ingredient in her diet.

"Ancient chewing gum" also stores information about the bacteria that live in the girl's mouth. Researchers can detect DNA traces that reveal the source of the pathogen, including what may be the Epstein-Barr virus, one of the most common human viruses that can cause mononucleosis. They also found signs of pneumonia.

Birch tar is found.(Photo: NYT).

Lola is intolerant to milk sugar, consistent with the idea that adults evolved to be able to digest milk after dairy farming spread during the Neolithic revolution.

"Our ancestors lived in different environments, had different lifestyles and diets. So it's interesting to learn how this is reflected in their microbiota," said Schroeder.

"This can help us understand how pathogens have evolved and spread over time and what makes them especially toxic in a given environment. It helps predict how a pathogen will perform in the future and how it can be prevented or eradicated. "

Birch black has been used to attach stone tools to handles and straps. Although malleable when heated, it freezes as soon as it cools, leading some researchers to believe that the ancients chewed tar to keep it soft while working on the tool.

They also hypothesized that chewing the birch tar can help reduce toothache or work as well as brushing teeth today; stop hunger; or simply to have something to chew like using existing chewing gum.

Some of the bacteria found in the tar indicate signs of gum disease and this may be why Lola - named after the place she was found, the island of Lolland - chewed it.

1. Ancient 8000-year-old 'chewing gum' discovered
2. Discovered the oldest gum residue in the world