The DNA Of A 5,700 Year Old Scandinavian Woman, Revealed Thanks To Chewing Gum

Illustration of an ancient Scandinavian female figure (doc. Tom Björklund)

JAKARTA - It seems that chewing gum is not a new habit in this modern era. The assumption arose after a fossil lump that had a chewing gum-like texture was found.

It is made from heated birch bark and produces a rubbery, rubbery mass. The gum is believed to be 5,700 years old and was chewed by Scandinavians.

Substances that resemble chewing gum are actually often used as glue to attach stones to a handle and serve as tools. When archaeologists find these tool items, there are often chew marks on them.

There are several possible reasons for this chewing sign, one of which is chewing it to make it more flexible after it cools. The processed birch bark can also be chewed to reduce hunger, clean teeth, and even reduce toothaches.

Even though it is thousands of years old, the chewing gum still holds the DNA of the chewer. Quoted from The Vintage, researchers in Denmark found that the gum was chewed by an ancient Scandinavian girl.

Clumps of fossils that are thought to be ancient chewing gum (doc. Theis Jensen)

For the looks of it, she also has a combination of dark hair, dark skin, and blue eyes. Despite the fact that the majority of people of European descent are now white, combination dark skin was very common in Europe 5,000-10,000 years ago.

Not only DNA, this chew can also provide information about the microbes present in their mouths and what their last food is.

"We found a little lump that someone dumped thousands of years ago and suddenly we can bring up the person who dumped it. It's very interesting to be able to do that from an object this small," said Hannes Schroeder, an archaeologist at the University of Copenhagen.

Research also proves that the period in which this girl lived was a transitional period. Although many cultures hunt, agriculture, but his lifestyle is increasingly closer to the general style of today.

Most of the microbes from their mouths closely resemble the types of bacteria found in the human mouth today, but there are a few that stand out. This woman is also known to suffer from gum disease, of course this is not surprising considering that at that time there were no dentists and information on how to care for the mouth to stay healthy. In addition, a bacterium was also found that can cause pneumonia.

Microbial research is also of interest to researchers because they can find out what types of diseases were prevalent at the time and how these microbes evolved over time. The microbes in the chewing gum provide the opportunity for scientists to gain insight into what factors can influence how dangerous the microbes are.