{"id":375,"date":"2025-06-03T22:16:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/?p=375"},"modified":"2025-06-24T22:17:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:17:27","slug":"significance-old-chewing-gum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png\" alt=\"Close up of someone blowing a bubblegum bubble\" class=\"wp-image-376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png 541w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Chewing gum. Baseball players like it as an alternative to tobacco. Teens enjoy it for its pleasant flavor and texture. And archeologists are recovering ground-breaking DNA that reveals the dietary and cultural habits of ancient civilizations. Clearly, gum has many uses!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWait a minute,\u201d you might be thinking, \u201cI need way more details about that last example!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s true \u2013 right around 2019, archeologist Natalija Kashuba recovered informative DNA samples from a piece of ancient chewing gum that was previously discovered in the 1990\u2019s. Thanks to Kashuba\u2019s efforts, researchers now have a clearer picture of what life was like for the people of Huseby-Kiev, Sweden over 10,000 years ago. If you\u2019re still fascinated, keep reading, because there are more fun dental facts about this find!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Brief Historical Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To fully appreciate the significance of this particular piece of gum, it\u2019s helpful to have a general understanding of what archeologists know about the ancient peoples of Huseby-Kiev. Based on other findings, this is what they theorize:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They descended from two different groups of migrants: one from modern day western Europe and one from modern day Russia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These two groups eventually converged to form a new population now referred to as Scandinavian hunter-gatherers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They each also had different methods for making stone tools \u2013 which will be important later, rest assured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Significance of the Gum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the type of gum the Huseby-Kiev peoples seemed to have chewed on probably isn\u2019t anything like the kind you\u2019re familiar with. It was made from birch bark pitch, and was used to adhere bones onto stone blades, creating an essential tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Kashuba\u2019s discovery and contribution to archeology has more to do with the DNA found on the gum. Basically, this is what made the find so significant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The gum contains the oldest human DNA sample ever recovered from Scandinavia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Because of this and other DNA-related factors, archeologists now have a crystal-clear link between the two ancient migratory groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This helped them form a more detailed timeline of when the groups initially met and started to intermarry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The tooth marks on the gum came from a set of baby teeth, seeming to indicate that making stone tools wasn\u2019t an age-restricted task.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two of the three genomes came from genetic females, also suggesting that both men and women participated in this job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s amazing what you can find out from one piece of chewing gum and some dental markings! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/\">Pearly whites<\/a> don\u2019t just help you chew your food \u2013 they leave behind clues about the past that help researchers better understand the cultures that came before. Like fingerprints and DNA, they paint a unique picture of you and your daily habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/meet-the-doctors.html\">Dr. Gregory A. Craybas<\/a> is a proud member of the American Dental Association and New York State Dental Association. He might not be using chewing gum to make ground-breaking archeological discoveries, but he can tell whether you\u2019ve been brushing and flossing just by looking at your teeth! To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/contact-us.html\">contact his office<\/a> and schedule an appointment, call 315-475-6641.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chewing gum. Baseball players like it as an alternative to tobacco. Teens enjoy it for its pleasant flavor and texture. And archeologists are recovering ground-breaking DNA that reveals the dietary and cultural habits of ancient civilizations. Clearly, gum has many uses! \u201cWait a minute,\u201d you might be thinking, \u201cI need way more details about that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Creative Dental Concepts of CNY Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-03T22:16:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-24T22:17:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"creativedental\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"creativedental\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/\",\"name\":\"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-03T22:16:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-24T22:17:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/998d92fb355a25ff1c8575287551409f\"},\"description\":\"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png\",\"width\":541,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Creative Dental Concepts of CNY Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/998d92fb355a25ff1c8575287551409f\",\"name\":\"creativedental\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4639582177ae57570c20594a17c11745232758e3936d6ff19c69d424a222a61a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4639582177ae57570c20594a17c11745232758e3936d6ff19c69d424a222a61a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"creativedental\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/author\/creativedental\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY","description":"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY","og_description":"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/","og_site_name":"Creative Dental Concepts of CNY Blog","article_published_time":"2025-06-03T22:16:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-24T22:17:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png"}],"author":"creativedental","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"creativedental","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/","name":"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum | Creative Dental Concepts of CNY","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-300x200.png","datePublished":"2025-06-03T22:16:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-24T22:17:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/998d92fb355a25ff1c8575287551409f"},"description":"Your teeth can reveal a lot about you and your habits! See how one piece of really old gum shed light on ancient Scandinavians.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image.png","width":541,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/03\/significance-old-chewing-gum\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Significance of a 10,000-Year-Old Piece of Chewing Gum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/","name":"Creative Dental Concepts of CNY Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/998d92fb355a25ff1c8575287551409f","name":"creativedental","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4639582177ae57570c20594a17c11745232758e3936d6ff19c69d424a222a61a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4639582177ae57570c20594a17c11745232758e3936d6ff19c69d424a222a61a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"creativedental"},"url":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/author\/creativedental\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cerecuse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}