What does 5000 YEAR OLD Chewing Gum Taste Like? Let's find out!
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- I recently came across an article describing wads of chewed up birch tar dating to nearly 6000 years ago. They were unearthed in Denmark during an excavation of an ancient home site. The author speculated that these wads were some sort of primitive chewing gum so, of course, I had to try it out. In this primitive skills video, we'll go through the entire process of rending birch tar or birch oil from the bark of western birch which are closely related to paper birch. Birch oil is one of the oldest known adhesives. It's a powerful antiseptic, primitive waterproofing and wood sealer, leather preservative and conditioner. It was used to patch cracks in pots and waterproof leather in ancient Rome. With all those uses, knowing how to make birch tar could be a valuable survival skill for long term wilderness living. In other words, it's pretty incredible stuff and it's quite easy to make.
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I believe a certain type of partly crystallized sap was used as a kind of chewing gum too, and i suspect that would taste a whole lot better than your birch tar.
We've been making birch oil for a few years. I agree about the gum theory. How I see it they chewed it to soften it with the chewing action and body heat, also maybe to mix another ingredient say fat maybe, The difference between pitch from a pine and birch is the birch is far more pliable by itself and doesn't need as much added material to make it pliable. Not having a ready at hand container it was easy to store it in its most stable state as a solid, when you need to use it as an aid to stick a sharp rock to a stick one could take a chunk chew it to a pliable state and apply it. It can also be heated, I use a heat gun to loosen the thick oil up when applying to wood, cook it in good with a solid rub down, I use a lot on my canoe paddles. Another theory from the Neandertals is they have found it in teeth and conclude they chewed it as well, but I suspect for reason like I put forth. Clay pots would be good to see and must work very well, I have also heard they rolled bark up in a tube, I'm guessing 6 inches or so and covered it mostly in dirt to smolder it and lite the exposed end, laid on a slight slope with a catch pan or flat rock to collect any juice that runs out Experimental archology must be applied. I'm hoping to render some down on a larger scale for a canoe project I have, using a 35 gallon oil drum and gallon paint can to catch it. One of the gals on this season of Alone used it on her jacket as a water proofing agent. Yes I make bug dope out of it too, thirds olive oil coconut oil and birch oil. There is nothing like the smell of birch oil much better than the taste. Oh and we made soap with it too.
Very cool! That rolled up bark idea sounds solid.
Its mixed witz larch resin
@@XHuiAtHomeX Did they mix birch tar and larch resin?
@@downeastprimitiveskills7688 Yes
@@XHuiAtHomeX I will have to try that.
Hey Clay, love the vid. At about 8:30 you asked what uses there might be for the carbonized bark that's left over. There are multiple uses for it but for brevities sake, it can be used for just about anything charcoal can be used in. Some notable examples include gunpowder, home remedies, and way to try to neutralize accidentally ingested toxins. In essence what you have is pure carbon.
Yes. May I also add for making ink? Not really a survival skill as such and it would take some grinding of course but I do wonder how fine an ink it would make.
Water filtration. I do this with hard woods and filter my own water in large qty. The tiny store bought filters have barely any charcoal in them. They are a scam
Adding to plant soil too.
You could possibly use the remains for filtering water
Sweet birch (Betula lenta) has a strong wintergreen or root beer aroma in the bark. I wonder if that would produce a better tasting substance.
Highly unlikely, the burned creosote effect is powerful very powerful.
Neat. Why do you know what the inside of a stove pipe tastes like?
😁
Hey Clay I love your videos man. I took survival classes at the pathfinder school taught by Dave Canterbury, Dan Wowak, and Shawn Kelly and I can tell you for sure that you are doing a great job and you remind me of the autenticity and no bs approach they had. I also watched you on Alone and was rooting for you from Day 1. Your awesome man, keep up the great work, and may God bless you and make your paths straight.
Many thanks
Super interesting to see how easy it is to extract the tar from the bark. When you spread it on the bow, it reminded me very much of a material that is used in Spain for aging metal or wood objects, called Betún de Judea, or Judea tar/bitumen, which gives the same rich dark brown tone and waterproofs things. Great video Clay! I wonder, do you have a video how you made your wooden cup on Alone? I´m very interested how you made it hollow and how you did waterproof it, maybe with something like birch tar? Anyway, thanks a lot for the inspiring work!
Thanks. I haven’t done a video on the cup but I’ll do that.
@@clayhayeshunter looking forward to it!
Black birch has a wintergreen smell when u snap a limb. Wonder maybe if they used that and ended up with a wintergreen type gum
I’ve chewed pine sap into a gum that is nice and pliable while it’s being chewed and when you stop chewing it and roll it up it will solidify again. Tastes good, too. 😊
My Grandmother born in the early 1900's taught me that sycamore trees and river birch make good tooth brushes. Take a new limb around 1/4 inch and chew it til it fibers, then you can scrub your teeth with it. As far as the gum goes, maybe they mixed sweets or herbs with it to make it taste better? No telling with a civilization that rarely wrote anything down.
Do the trees survive the extraction?
These trees were killed by a wildfire. But yes, you can take the outer layer of bark without killing the trees. Just don’t remove the inner bark.
Awesome video. It's super cool seeing you use your channel for everything you like doing. Great information from all walks of the woods
Thanks so much!
@@clayhayeshunter was birch tar used for boat making?
You're probably gonna love that shovel.... Other than my Leatherman, it's probably my most used tool around camp.
Although overcooked, I reckon that the charred bark remains would still qualify as "biochar" in that micro-pores for water retention is supposed to be one of several benefits. Huck the stuff into your compost pile!
That bow looked so good with the dark Birch oil finish.
It did
Beautiful stain. Try spruce gum. In the Northeast, a wound on the side of a spruce tree will produce a blob of sap. Too fresh and it's just a sticky mess, too old and it's brittle and chalky, if it's firm, gold, and you can kinda see in to it, you should have it. Pick it off,, clean the bark or dirt off and start chewing. It becomes just like trident only a spruce flavor that isn't bad. Eventually it turn a light purple color and looks like purple taffy with teeth marks in it.
Cool
Same thing with sap from Sweet Gum trees.
@@jimwingfield6321 how's the flavor?
It’s been well over 50 years since I’ve chewed it but what I recall was it was somewhat of a minty taste but no sweetness. It was also a tad spicy when fresh and very aromatic.. When fresh it would stick to the teeth really bad so you had to break it in so to speak When we would get tired of it for the day we would put it on a piece of wax paper or tin foil and start all over the next day. Same piece of gum would last several days. Let be just say I preferred store bought, lol.
thanks for your sacrifice
🤣
Superb tasting Clay. Your tasting response was fabulous. I tried it and burned up mind I try again tomorrow. Jim Rodgers
hmm, maybe bury the bottom can a little deeper maybe.
I am living out of my state because of education stuffs ,
I like your videos cause seeing your videos takes me back to my Village .. thanks man 🤜
Glad you like them!
OK. Time to cover your kayak in birch bark....
Ich arbeite als freischaffende Künstlerin mit Keramik und lebe sehr naturverbunden.
Mit Garten und Pferden in einem kleinen Dorf 1000m Seehöhe in Österreich.
Ich habe mittelalterliche und antike Keramikfunde für archäologische Publikationen verzeichnet und interessiere mich sehr für altes Handwerk allgemein.
Vor zwei Jahren hat mein kleiner Sohn zufällig ein stück Birkenteer am Seeufer gefunden.
Hab es erst ein Jahr später als solches erkannt.
Jetzt baue ich einen holzbefeuerten Keramikbrennofen aus Lehm, Sand, Schamotte und Stroh und werde meine Keramik nach alten Vorbildern mit selbst hergestellten Birken-Teer abdichten, kitten und dekorieren.
Danke für dein Video, es bestärkt mich auf meinem Weg.
Good luck
Does it remain sticky on the bow, Clay, or does I harden?
After buffing it in with a piece of leather, this little bow isn’t sticky at all. To truly waterproof it, it’ll likely take several coats.
there are other sites in scandinavia and finland where they have found similar birch pitch gum/glue, one of pieces was chewed by 5year old kid, other pieces where also chewed by kids and teenagers. 8000 year old site in Sweden and 5500-6000 year old site in Finland. Maybe they were made a bit different way, perhaps in lower heat and it tasted better?
Birch oil is hard to beat for a finish 👍🏻
Great video Clay
Happy Father's day
Thanks! You too!
Looks very good on the bow ! Interesting.
Thank you! Cheers!
Interesting 👍🏻 So funny you tasting that tar. 😆
That is cool and the stain was super pretty. I'll just keep that in my back pocket for future use.
Right…birch tree hunt commencing!! In Australia that’ll be tough, but they are decorative in some towns. Better find some that have been cut down though. Cheers Clay
Covert ops…
That color is amazing!
And the history and sharing of knowledge is much appreciated.
Thanks Clay!
My pleasure!
never heard of this but what i do know is that some people used to chew raw sap. tried cherry sap at like 5 years old and never had it since but i remember that it wasn't tasting bad but wasn't meant for my 5 year olds tongue
8:28 garden food! Biochar is a catalyst for microorganisms
First video I've seen of yours. Good stuff!
Thank you only my second video of yours that I've watched You're a likable guy the that you stand was really nice, seems like a great Channel with very helpful good information thank you sir
Thank you for that information.
Had me rolling when you spit it out 🤣😂🤣
🤣
I've used pine tar as wood sealer, works great, made the exact same way. Last week my job took out past the Hayes Ranch, and dang, they're building houses all around it
Yeah, it’s turning into one big subdivision 😒
@@clayhayeshunter that's crazy. Just a few years ago that was out in the woods. Not anymore.
I think your theory about chewing for medicine , especially tooth ache. That carbonized birch you crumbled would be perfect additive for cave-man hot glue for your birch bark canoes and water vessels etc. A little spruce gum , bunny poop and that and you're in business. I betcha if you stopped the cook like you said for char cloth the partialy rendered bark would make great char cloth. Maybe what the natives used before textiles were handy.
Hey Clay, great video! I was thinking possibly black birch was used for this if it was I the area where the chewing gum was located.
Black birch may give a better taste output as it has a minty flavor
LMAO I'm sorry brother the face you made after trying that was hilarious. I love you videos and all your tips and secrets of being outdoors through trial and error. Okay so now from your experiment I'm pretty sure the Native Americans didn't use that as gum. So from what I'm looking at from the Beneficial properties of the oil in the tar for your skin and healing wounds and the fact a lot of Native Americans used to have a lot of practices and techniques and darkening their skin including tanning putting ash on oneself ect. Im thinking that the tar runs all those same lines and also probably is good for packing minor wounds or used a salve. I love being outdoors with you brother and cant wait for your next video.. Hopefully we can see you do some Bowfishing before Archery season starts down here in the South brother.
Clay, I just had an errant thought. Some years, both here in Alaska, as well as my erstwhile Japan, I do sugar-tapping --- birch up here, and mostly maple over there.
During the process of evaporating the sap, we skim off a whitish grey scum off the top, which is rather gummy and sweet. Normally, we just discard this substance, but I wonder if you were to cook it down further it might beget something more resembling chewing gum or taffy.
Hmmm. Something to try next winter, I suppose.
If you end up giving it hay a try, shoot me a message!
@clayhayeshunter
Will do.
That'll be Mid-March to April up here.
Umm…Hard pass on the chewing gum. But the stain was cool looking.
That’s what I’m saying I might try this out, maybe buy one of those build your own flintlock rifle kits and stain the stock with this
I learned a ton about birch tar that I did not know....including that I don't want to try chewing it!
Thanks for another great video look forward to them
Glad you like them!
Thanks!
No problem!
Good stuff, Clay.
A lot of North American natives would chew spruce gum. I've tried it, but can't claim to be a fan. Lol. However, I do chew on birch twigs on hikes; it's reminiscent of wintergreen.
Up here in Alaska, we're just coming to the end of spruce bud collecting season for making beer.
Interesting!
the way you made it similar like people in my village made fungicide for plant.
Interesting
Does Clay have any videos on his video capture process? Or what gear/settings he is currently using?
😂 😂 😂 Your facial expression is just awesome... It tasted absolutely great, didn't it? 😂👏🏻
My grandmother use to chew spruce gum. Vermont
I first saw this done in a documentary about Russian trappers . Thank you Clay for video and motivation for me to get out and try it for myself .
Glad you enjoyed it
I think that you probably overheated it I think a slow, steady heat, a lower heat temps would produce a better tasting substance ?
Perhaps 🤔
I think you can't avoid the high heat in the initial burn, a slow cooking after that will thicken it very nicely. just watch it doesn't get too hot in that process as it will combust.
Thank you so much for this lesson!
You're very welcome!
It would probably be ancient craft people chewing frozen chunks to soften for use.
Hey clay I was wondering if you can make a recurve Bushcraft bow that is 40 lb of higher only using a knife ,axe and just overall some Bushcraft tools I would like to see a video like that if you can cuz I've never seen anyone build a recurve Bushcraft bow only longbow penobscot bow you get where I'm going with this but can you try making a fully recurve bow only using Bushcraft tools thank you have a nice day
Very cool video. The hardware store, grocery store and pharmacy are all around us in the outdoors, so this is a big winner in my book. People today should know these things so they can appreciate and marvel them. Kids growing up out of touch of the magic and abundance is what is wrong with todays world. Thanks Clay.
💪
I'm the only one in my city with high grade pine oil on my shelf and water filtration media for large qty's of water.
Have one where you have extracted propolis from trees for antibiotic, and pain I think? Honey bee's use it to patch boxes for cold drafts, and water proofing I have heard.
Interesting
Maybe they just had different tastes than we did. They couldn’t afford to be as picky as we can today. Honestly, I’d say just taking a raw piece of sap off a pine tree probably taste much better than that. I’ve tried it and it’s not too bad.
Make gunpowder with the charcoal
you can make black dye with that charcoale
im going to need that right now for my toothache 😢
Could you do the same with black walnut husks?
I don't think so but you can make a dye out of it.
So, basically it's a beautiful stain and quality sealant in one. Win-win.
And the instant I leave that comment, you say the exact same thing in the video. 😅😂
my thoughts as well!
Мои дед и бабушка делали жвачку из березовой коры и сливок или сметаны, говорили очень вкусно получалось, но к сожалению я незнаю точного рецепта
Good stufff!!
Appreciate it!
Would it be better with fresh bark?
I don’t think so think so. You’d get a lot of moisture as well as the oil.
Textbook biochar 👌
Thanks for sharing! Always wondered how it was done. Maybe mixing it up with maple syrup or birch syrup..however, maybe this is how they got their teeth to rott and requiring the gum in the end.. Joking 😉 cheers from sw ontario
😁
Hey there Clay, I'm california native and we did use the sap from sugarpines in my area for gum. Although you didn't want to chew too much as it is also a diuretic.😮😂 and it taste like..... you guessed it. A pine tree. 😂
😜
Cool thanks
You bet
I’d be using it to grip up my club and spears
"Creosote out of a wood stove pipe and licked that"...I can imagine😅...
Good video
Beautiful stain.
I think so too!
9:20 idk if I could have done it
I swear this is how they make mosquito repellent in Siberia. If I listened for just a few seconds longer. You let us know 😂
How do you think they made it 5000 years ago? Clay pots?
Never mind, answered my question right after I asked it!
I wouldn't chew on anything that came out of a paint can
Grains of wheat can make chewing gum,too.
Perhaps they added some different flavour to the tar to make it taste better? I think it’s better intended for a sealer tho 😂
Aren't you worried about toxic chemicals coming out of the paint can?
I aske my apothecary for some uses aaand It burns or hurtsmy skin... Tace care of your health
Me and the boys chewed on "Indian Gum" as a kid. It was some chewy stuff inside a stick. No idea what it was. It had no flavor. kek. We also smoked lady cigars ... long story. kek
I had never heard of birch tar being used as gum, however I have heard of the North American Indians chewing spruce sap for gum.
Probably wouldn't chew it to whiten your teeth.
Birch bark canoes...
If this man waits until one year after me finding this account & hitting that follow button to POISON HIMSELF ON CAMERA... I'ma be pissed!!!🤣😭😭😭
😜
good on you for trying though😅
prove to me that what you have there is not a petrified wallaby turd instead of chewing gum.
🤣
Come on Clay, show us how you spin and bake some clay pots to make that gum the right way. Who knows, it might taste better, or cause cancer😬
Could have been for casting dental implants?
Wouldn’t that be activated charcoal?
The leftover stuff? Probably! I didn’t think about that!
@@clayhayeshunter yep.
Stripping the bark can kill a birch tree
Tree was desd
@@glennwilck5459 didn’t look dead
@@jerrynelson2216 trees have leaves when they are alive just so you know and usually a fire will kill them like in this case...this is clay Hayes if he says the trees are dead he's not lying he knows what he is talking about he is an expert in all things woods
So instead of char cloth, its tar cloth...lol
🤣
Humans had chewing gum 5000 years ago?! They had alot more things we consider modern, everyday more and more things are showing up that indicates to that. They might not have used it for pleasure like he do but they would would have other uses for it most likely.
😂 Those so called professionals should've chewed it themselves before they want to call it old fashioned chewing gum😅
Killed that tree huh lmao
It was already dead…
Good ol bubble guts man....stain looks great ,,but the stain in the undies is what I would be worried about lol
Oof 😅
They may not be Clay pots, but if they are yours, they are Clay cans...sorry, grandpa jokes
😜
yeah so for everyone that is going to try this... ONLY SKIN DEAD TREES PLEASE! some idiot in my street skinned 3 newly planted trees costing 7000 euros each because he saw a survival show and wanted to try it out... trees are still alive but who knows for how much longer