Ancient 'Chewing Gum'?

Wads of chewed birch bark pitch were discovered, along with human remains, in an ancient Swedish site. These artefacts were, almost 10,000 years old, from the then 'Stone Age'. The wads, appeared to have been mainly chewed by 'teenagers', inevitably resulting in their being christened 'chewing gum' (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/23/ancient-chewing-gum-stone-age-teenagers-diet). The link between 'teenagers' and chewing gum may be, however, a little over-simplistic. One should remember that, at that time, 'teenagers' were probably the only folk, with teeth strong enough to chew birch bark pitch. Although this 'chewing gum', might have been chomped solely for pleasure, the pitch could have needed softening. Once gum-like, it may have served as a binding, when assembling 'Stone Age' weapons and tools. Birch bark pitch could also have been chewed simply to ward off hunger pangs or even for presumed medical benefits. Life-spans were much shorter in the 'Stone Age'. DNA studies on the chewed wads have, however, shed light on both 'Stone Age' diet and oral health in this location. Their diet included deer, trout and hazlenuts, with traces of apple, duck and fox. There was also clear evidence of gum disease in some of the samples.