Researchers analyzed residues of birch tar chewed by hunter-gatherers.
About 10 thousand years ago, on the territory of what is now Sweden, a group of hunter-gatherers set up a camp where one of their pastimes was chewing gum from birch resin. New Atlas writes that an analysis of Mesolithic gum shows that ancient humans had very modern dental problems.
Samples of birch resin, which our ancestors chewed until it turned into glue, were first discovered in the 1990s. But only now have advanced tools allowed scientists to extract DNA from samples. Emra Kırdok from Mersin University conducted the research.
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“We had to use many complex analytical tools to identify different species and organisms. The existing tools were not designed to detect ancient DNA, so we had to spend a lot of time setting them up,” says Andres Aravena, a co-author of the study. Istanbul University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics.
The team discovered that birch tar was chewed by young people who had previously eaten venison, trout and hazelnuts. Bacteria that cause dental diseases common among modern humans were also found in the resin. So one of the teenagers suffered from periodontitis, an infection that damages the tissue around the teeth and can lead to tooth loss.
Scientists also found decay-causing bacteria in the resin. Approximately 70-80% of the hunter-gatherer group suffered from gum disease.
Traces of other foods were found in the resin, among other things: apples, red foxes, gray wolves, and mistletoe. According to scientists, some of these marks may have remained on ancient people’s teeth after they used them as tools (for example, to make clothes from wolf and fox fur). This is what can cause gum disease by introducing large amounts of bacteria into the mouth.
“Our study provides insight into how a small group of hunter-gatherers lived on the west coast of Scandinavia,” says Anders Göterström from Stockholm University, who was involved in the research.
Let us also remind you that scientists found the oldest carious sweet tooth at 54 million years old. Researchers have discovered dental disease in an ancient mammal.
Source: Focus
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