10,000-year-old DNA has been extracted from ancient “chewing gum”, providing archaeologists with a unique insight into Scandinavia's first human settlers.
The gum is tar of a birch bark tree, which was used by ancient settlers as a chewy snack, and fixing agent for arrowheads and axe blades.
Although the tar was discovered in the early 1990s, sufficient DNA analysis was only made possible recently; with results providing “enormous potential” for tracing the origins and movements of early humans.