WEBVTT - Neanderthals Used Glue

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain

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<v Speaker 1>stuff is Christian Sager here. There are some things people

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<v Speaker 1>just can't live without, so we invented them way before

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<v Speaker 1>we ever invented writing, coats, knives, roofs. Fire. Turns out,

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<v Speaker 1>another thing our prehistoric precursors needed that we still need

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<v Speaker 1>today is the ability to stick one thing to another

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<v Speaker 1>thing and then you know, have them stay that way,

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<v Speaker 1>which is why Neanderthals had glue. They might have been cavemen,

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<v Speaker 1>but they weren't savages. Now Homo neanderthal insists used their glue,

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<v Speaker 1>a viscous tar distilled from birch bark, to fix weapons

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<v Speaker 1>on the heads of a tool onto a halft or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a handle, and Neanderthals were actually the leaders in

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<v Speaker 1>glue technology, beating US Homo sapiens to the punch by

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<v Speaker 1>more than a hundred thousand years. They began brewing tar

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand years ago, whereas the earliest evidence of modern

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<v Speaker 1>humans using tree resin as adhesive appears less than one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred thousand years ago. Research published in twenty eleven shows

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<v Speaker 1>that Neanderthals had the ability to create and control fire.

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<v Speaker 1>So does the fact Neanderthals could manipulate fire to produce tar,

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<v Speaker 1>prove they weren't as dimwitted as we like to assume.

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<v Speaker 1>Scientists have been curious about the process Neanderthals used to

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<v Speaker 1>make their glue. A new study published in the journal

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<v Speaker 1>Nature Scientific Reports suggests three different ways Neanderthal tar could

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<v Speaker 1>have been manufactured. After all, it had to be produced.

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<v Speaker 1>This stuff wasn't just secreted from trees growing in the forest,

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<v Speaker 1>but how difficult was making tar? Tar making is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>a process no matter which way you go about it.

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<v Speaker 1>The research team figured that out through a fancy bit

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<v Speaker 1>of experimental archaeology. They dive eased three different potential methods

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<v Speaker 1>of extracting sticky stuff from birch bark. The ash mound method,

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<v Speaker 1>where tightly rolled layers of birch bark are covered in

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<v Speaker 1>ash and embers, the pit roll cigar roll method, where

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<v Speaker 1>one end of a birch roll is lit and placed

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<v Speaker 1>burning side down into a small collection pit, and the

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<v Speaker 1>raised structure method, where a birch bark container was placed

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<v Speaker 1>in a pit beneath an organic mesh which holds loosely

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<v Speaker 1>rolled bark that is then covered with earth and fire.

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<v Speaker 1>After recreating the three tar production methods. The scientists assess

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<v Speaker 1>each according to three criteria the yield, temperature, and complexity.

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<v Speaker 1>The team found that though the simplest fastest method, the

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<v Speaker 1>ash mound method, yielded just a peace sized amount of tar,

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<v Speaker 1>the most complicated, time consuming method, that's the raised structure method,

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<v Speaker 1>produced fifteen to twenty times more and was so the

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<v Speaker 1>most efficient. They also observed that regulating the temperature of

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<v Speaker 1>the fire didn't make much of a difference to the product,

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<v Speaker 1>even though they have no evidence that the Neanderthal way

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<v Speaker 1>of making tar was similar to any of their experimental methods,

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<v Speaker 1>making the connection between the birch bark, the fire, and

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<v Speaker 1>the tar would have required that Neanderthals possessed a proclivity

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<v Speaker 1>for abstract thought, So whether they were making easy, inefficient

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<v Speaker 1>tar instead of something like the high yield method requiring

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<v Speaker 1>a folded cup and a little grill made of sticks,

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<v Speaker 1>Neanderthals had something going for them. They were seriously using

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<v Speaker 1>their brains, and who knows, it's possible they started with

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<v Speaker 1>a method similar to one and then moved on to

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<v Speaker 1>another overtime. Today's episode was written by jess Lyn Shields,

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tristan McNeil, and for more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>other top fis, please visit us at how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, MH.