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(CNN) - Lola, a young woman who lived in Denmark 5,700 years ago, had blue eyes and dark skin and hair. His last meal included hazelnuts and duck, but not milk, he couldn't stand dairy.
And the reason we know all this is because she chewed birch resin, a material that worked like an old chewing gum.
A study of that birch resin discovered the entire genome and oral microbiome of the girl, being the first time that human genetic material was successfully extracted from something besides the bones. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Artistic reconstruction of Lola.
Birch resin was what Paleolithic people used as glue until 760,000 years ago. It was derived from heating the birch bark, and at some point along the way they realized that they could chew it, as indicated by the marks of teeth found in the ancient remains of the resin.
Archaeologists at the Lolland-Falster Museum found on the Syltholm site in Lolland, the fourth largest island in Denmark, a small piece of brownish black birch resin. Small lumps are common at archeological sites in Scandinavia, according to the study.
“Syltholm is completely unique. Almost everything is sealed in mud, which means that the preservation of organic remains is absolutely phenomenal, ”said Theis Jensen, author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen, who excavated the site.
"It is the largest site of the Stone Age in Denmark, and archaeological findings suggest that the people who occupied the site were largely exploiting wild resources in the Neolithic, which is the period when agriculture and domesticated animals They were first introduced in southern Scandinavia. ”
By extracting the DNA from the birch, the researchers discovered that it was chewed by a female genetically related to hunter-gatherers from the European continent, rather than those in central Scandinavia. Specific genes told them about their hair, skin and eye color, which was similar to other European hunter-gatherers.
"It's amazing to have obtained a complete ancient human genome from something other than bone," said Hannes Schroeder, author of the study and associate professor at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen. "In addition, we also recover DNA from oral microbes and several important human pathogens, which makes it a very valuable source of ancient DNA, especially for periods of time when we have no human remains."
Birch resin that is believed to be used as modern chewing gum.
The DNA of plants and animals trapped in the field also revealed that he had eaten hazelnuts and duck, probably basic elements of his diet.
The old chewing gum acted as a time capsule, also storing information about your oral microbiome, the bacteria that lived in your mouth. The researchers were able to detect traces of DNA that revealed pathogens, including the possible Epstein-Barr virus, one of the most common human viruses that can serve as a gateway to mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever. They also found signs of pneumonia.
Lola was lactose intolerant, which aligns with the idea that adults developed tolerance after the spread of milk production during the Neolithic revolution.
"Our ancestors lived in a different environment and had a different lifestyle and diet, so it is interesting to discover how this is reflected in their microbiome," said Schroeder. “It can help us understand how pathogens have evolved and spread over time, and what makes them particularly virulent in a given environment. At the same time, it can help predict how a pathogen will behave in the future and how it could be contained or eradicated. ”
Birch resin was used to help attach stone tools to handles and straps. Although malleable when heated, it solidifies as soon as it cools, leading some researchers to believe that ancient people chewed it to keep it soft while working on their tools.
They also theorized that birch resin was chewed to help relieve the pain of a toothache, act like a toothbrush, avoid hunger or, like we use modern chewing gum, simply to have something to chew. Birch resin also contains betulin, which acts as an antiseptic.
Some of the bacteria detected in the resin indicate signs of gum disease, which may be the reason why Lola, whose name derives from Lolland, was chewing on her.
The discovery of birch resin sheds light on a person who lived on the site, which is notable because human remains have never been recovered there. And more discoveries in other places in the future could do the same, reviving ancient humans when there are no more remains of their lives.
DNA