# 5,700 year old piece of gum



## Dirigible (Apr 26, 2021)

I saw this article about a 5,700 year old piece of gum and it made me think about the _1,000 year old Viking Shoe_ thread so thought I'd share with the community.

_This "Gum" was found in Denmark and is purported to be 5,700 years old_
_Scientists ran a DNA test on it and discovered that a woman with blue eyes and dark hair chewed it_
_It's assumed that this gum was chewed to act like super glue for making tools_

This piece of "gum" isn't even an inch long...yet we're led to believe that scientists found it (where or how, we're not told) and inferred from the tests they ran a great deal about our evolution and the details of Europe and culture. What say you...is this story true or false?





> Note: This OP was recovered from the Sh.org archive.





> Note: Archived Sh.org replies to this OP are included in this thread.


----------



## KD Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: KorbenDallasDate: 2019-12-29 19:05:59Reaction Score: 3




Dirigible said:


> Scientists ran a DNA test on it and discovered that a woman with blue eyes and dark hair chewed it


This has to be the best one to date. In the OP linked source they even provided a recreated appearance of the woman.

_I had to verify it wasn’t some April Fool’s Day pub, but December 17th is not even close._



> The genetics of this ancient woman point to the hunter-gatherer way of life.





> Her genes indicate lactose intolerance.





> Our ancient subject may have even chewed it for its antiseptic properties, perhaps to ease the pain of an infected tooth.


Say what?


----------



## anotherlayer (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: anotherlayerDate: 2019-12-30 03:35:59Reaction Score: 2


That girl has feet for hands!


----------



## Timeshifter (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TimeshifterDate: 2019-12-30 09:06:24Reaction Score: 2


I love how law enforcment still have to use ridiculous e fits, but this ancient dna in gum can produce a life like resemblance


----------



## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: ObertrynDate: 2019-12-30 13:33:30Reaction Score: 2


I can almost understand how they got dark hair and blue eyes from a little bit of DNA remaining on the gum (although how the f**k it managed to stay preserved enough for 5000+ years is stretching belief - chewing gum isn't some super-durable shit, especially since what she apparently chewed was just unrefined boiled-down tree bark, not the preservative-stuffed chunks of today) but being able to determine the genetic composition of what she had for dinner that day and what bacteria lived in her mouth is pushing it.


----------



## Felix Noille (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: FelixnoilleDate: 2019-12-30 14:59:12Reaction Score: 1


----------



## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: EmmanuelZorgDate: 2020-01-02 13:52:23Reaction Score: 1




KorbenDallas said:


> Our ancient subject may have even chewed it for its antiseptic properties, perhaps to ease the pain of an infected tooth.
> Say what?


This goes against everything I was told by every dentist I ever visited as a child.  

No way I would want anyone to do DNA testing on the underside of the school desks I used in school.  The resulting picture would not look anything like Ms. Foot-handed Duck Hunter.


----------



## HollyHoly (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: HollyHolyDate: 2020-01-02 18:10:38Reaction Score: 6


wait a minute.. they're saying this stuff is boiled ,and the gum chewer puts it in her mouth "Not spearmint gum, mind you, but a decidedly less palatable chunk of black-brown pitch, boiled down from the bark of the birch tree. An indispensable tool in her time,* birch pitch would solidify as it cooled, *so the woman and her comrades would have* had to chew* it before using it as a *sort of superglue for,* say, making tools. "

 they HAD to chew it HAD TOO no other way! but she somehow managed to not glue her mouth shut ??? and if its so antiseptic why is it full of bacteria and intact dna after 5700 years??? 

 Science is an idiot


----------

