6,000-year-old #ChewingGum! Pieces of birch pitch found in the Late #Neolithic pile dwelling settlement of Hornstaad, dating 3917-3909 BC. You can still see the toothmarks!
Birch pitch was used as a prehistoric glue for attaching stone tools to handles. Finds very often contain toothmarks. There a several reasons why people would have chewed it: to make it malleable, to ease toothaches because it’s mildly antiseptic, to clean teeth, or just for fun - it has a slightly intoxicating effect! 1/2