Die Welt

Early Stone-Age man chewed gum, say British archaeologists. The discovery is based on a find by an archaeology student of a lump of 5000-year-old birch-resin gum, with teeth-marks still preserved, at a dig in western Finland.

Professor Trevor Brown of the University of Derby told the BBC on Monday that the find is particularly important in view of the teeth-marks.

The birch resin contains carbolic acid together with antiseptic components which protected the area of the mouth against inflammation. The early Stone-Age gum presumably had other uses, for example the repair of broken pots.

Sarah Pickin, 23, the student who discovered the gum, was thrilled by the find, and is determined to continue her research into the living conditions of Stone-Age man.

Scientists from the University of Erlangen in Germany have discovered that frequent chewing of gum over time increases mental performance. Other scientists have discovered that it consumes up to eleven calories per hour.