Mesolithic Gum Unveils Ancient Scandinavian Diet | 22 Jan 2024

A recent study delves into the analysis of DNA extracted from a 10,000-year-old chewing gum discovered on the west coast of Scandinavia.

• The examination of chewed resin, accompanied by stone tools, suggests activities such as fishing, hunting, and resource gathering. The stone material also indicated a Mesolithic chronology.
  • The findings reveal that the inhabitants of this region, approximately 9,700 years ago, subsisted on a diet comprising deer, trout, and hazelnuts.
• The Mesolithic Age is the period of time between the Palaeolithic Age and the Neolithic Age. The exact beginning of this part of the Stone Age varies from region to region.
  • People transitioned from using large chipped stone stools to using smaller chipped stone tools (microliths).
  • It was during the Mesolithic Age that the dog was domesticated.