Never Mind Band-Aids, Neanderthals Had Antiseptic Birch Tar

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Our view of Neanderthal life keeps getting more complex and vibrant:

Neanderthals may have used birch tar as more than just glue; it could have helped them ward off infection and even insect bites.

People from several modern Indigenous cultures, including the Mi'kmaq of eastern Canada, use tar from birch bark to treat skin infections and keep wounds from festering. We know from several archaeological sites that Neanderthals also knew how to extract birch tar and that they used it as an adhesive to haft weapons. A recent study tested distilled birch tar against the bacteria S. aureleus and E. coli and found that Neanderthals could easily have used the same material as medicine for their frequent injuries.

[...] A team led by archaeologist Tjaark Siemssen, of the University of Cologne and the University of Oxford, tested the resulting sticky mess against cultures of Staphylococcusaureus-best known for its role in skin infections and its evolution of the antibiotic-resistant MRSA strain-and the gut bacterium Escherichia coli, a frequent culprit in food poisoning.

Birch tar had no effect on the E. coli cultures, but it did stop, or at least slow down, the growth of S. aureus.Exactly how well depended on the species of birch and the concentration of the tar, probably because different birch species, and maybe even individual trees, produce tar with different combinations of chemical compounds. The most effective batch, taken from a silver birch (Betula pendula) tree, produced a "comparatively strong response." Meanwhile, results from four other trees ranged from mild to moderate, and another had no effect.

[...] Unsurprisingly, the antibiotic Gentamicin proved much more effective against S. aureus than any of the birch tar samples. That's because it is refined and concentrated, in contrast to whatever happens to be in birch tar. That's, why, for instance, we take aspirin instead of just chewing on willow bark for headaches. (Seriously, if you have a skin infection, go to the doctor; please do not just start setting birch tar on fire in your backyard to treat yourself at home. We did not tell you to do that.)

Knowing that birch tar does work, at least against S. aureus, and that Neanderthals would have had ample opportunity to figure that out, we can start thinking more seriously about this kind of antiseptic as part of Neanderthal life.

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