Neanderthals used a natural form of Aspirin for pain relief, according to a recent analysis of DNA from the hardened dental plaque of the archaic humans that went extinct.
The male, who lived in El Sidron in what is now Spain, ate an antibiotic fungus called Penicillium and chewed on bits of poplar tree containing salicylic acid — the active ingredient of modern-day aspirin, researchers said.
The youngster’s fossilised jawbone reveals the ravages of an abscess, and his dental plaque contained the remnants of an intestinal parasite that causes acute diarrhoea, “so clearly he was quite sick,” said the study.
“Apparently, Neanderthals possessed a good knowledge of medicinal plants and their various anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, and seem to be self-medicating,” said study co-author Alan Cooper of the University of Adelaide’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.
Neanderthals lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for up to 300,000 years but appear to have vanished some 40,000 years ago.
Cooper said, “Those from El Sidron Cave, on the other hand, showed no evidence for meat consumption, but appeared instead to have a largely vegetarian diet comprising pine nuts, moss, mushrooms and tree bark.”
