Three pieces of the prehistoric gum were discovered in Sweden. Found to have been pre chewed due to the bite marks, the gum is made by chewing a black gooey resin from birch bark pitch.
The pitch samples are estimated to be between 9,890-9,540 years old. This falls in line with pre-existing knowledge of human presence in the Scandinavian Peninsula, as while there is evidence that suggests human activity goes as far back as 21,000 years ago, the earliest recovered human DNA is slightly just under 10,000 years old. This makes the gum one of, if not, the oldest known genomic evidence of humans residing in Scandinavia.
While it may seem a mundane discovery, the use of pre-chewed pitch samples can provide researchers with a wider understanding of Mesolithic (Stone Age) diets as well as the state of oral health during the period, especially during the societal transition from hunter-gatherer ways of living to the processes of livestock and farming in which noticeable changes in lifestyle and diet incur.
Considering this, pre-chewed pitch samples like the three discovered in Sweden contain cellular data from the oral cavity including bacteria and traces of eaten food. The study dictates that when analyzed alongside datasets of oral bacteria relating to dental hygiene illnesses and diseases, an abundance of oral bacteria such as Treponema denticola and Slackia exigua were found in the masticated resin.
As a result, researchers concluded that the consumer of this resin suffered from a severe case of periodontitis, an inflammatory gum disease. Additionally, when analyzed, traces of red deer, wolf, hazelnut, mallard, crab apples and robin were found in the chewing gum, giving an insight into the diet of Mesolithic peoples in the Scandinavian Peninsula.
While the density of people residing in Scandinavia during the Mesolithic period was low, meaning that the passing of oral bacteria was less prevalent, it is suggested that the prevalence of gum disease in these samples is indicative of the overuse of the teeth as tools. Used to tear, cut and chew things down due to limited knowledge, this created opportunities for mouth injuries, infections and developing a breeding ground for oral bacteria.
The archaeological discovery of this resin and the DNA it has preserved for ten millennia has been essential to the understanding of Mesolithic diet and lifestyle. Furthermore, it has provided a unique insight into the state of oral health in a time where toothbrushing, flossing and dental appointments – if affordable – are all commonplace within modern day human routine.