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Student Finds 5000-Year-Old Chewing Gum

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the ur-tree-has-a-flavor dept.

itsthebin writes "Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch bark tar — complete with neolithic tooth prints — on a dig in Finland. Ms Pickin's tutor at the University of Derby, Professor Trevor Brown, said birch bark tar contained phenols, which are antiseptic compounds. 'It is generally believed that neolithic people found that by chewing this stuff if they had gum infections it helped to treat the condition. It's particularly significant because well-defined tooth imprints were found on the gum which Sarah discovered,' he said. Ms Pickin was on a volunteer program at the Kierikki Centre on the west coast of Finland when she made the find."

13 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Deja vu by MyLongNickName · · Score: 4, Funny

    I tried the same thing when my teacher found me sticking some on the bottom of my desk. She didn't believe me.

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  2. I just gotta ask.... by Nick+Driver · · Score: 4, Funny

    Was it found stuck under the top of a 5000 yr old desk?

  3. Singapore by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Funny

    This kind of makes me wonder if anyone 5,000 years from now will ever know that Singapore existed...

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  4. Photo Caption by Gadgetfreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seems like that photo caption isn't the best place to make that kind of typo!

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  5. Interesting fact... by iamdrscience · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fact: 4 out of 5 neolithic dentists surveyed would recommend birch bark tar to their patients who chew tar.

    1. Re:Interesting fact... by ma++i+ude · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You may be more correct than you think. Birch sap contains xylitol, the sugar that's actually good for your teeth. It's still used in chewing gum, especially (and almost exclusively) in Finland where it was first discovered but increasingly in other countries as well. Find it in a supermarket near you.

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    2. Re:Interesting fact... by evanbd · · Score: 4, Informative

      Just to be pedantic...

      Xylitol is actually a sugar alcohol, not a "true" sugar. Sorbitol is similar. Both are good for you because the bacteria in your teeth try to digest it, but can't actually get any nutrition from it -- so the energy spent trying is wasted.

  6. Re:Just wondering? by djdavetrouble · · Score: 5, Funny

    What was it's flavour?

    ummmm. Birch?

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  7. Where it was found by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was found in a brand new Topps baseball card pack. Topps said "Most of the gum we package with our cards is about 5000-6000 years old."

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  8. everyone wants to know: by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny

    did it lose its flavor yet?

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  9. Am I still reading Slashdot? by katarn · · Score: 4, Funny

    What? An article about a female who has an interest in the sciences, and no one has commented on that yet? Is this still Slashdot?

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  10. Re:figured... by BECoole · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dental Carries didn't become common until man started farming cereal grains. As you guessed, cavities became even more common with the introduction of cheap sugar. You may enjoy this article about primitive diets. http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/nast y_brutish_short.html

  11. 5000 BC, not 5000 years old by Annymouse+Cowherd · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's 7000 years old.