Neanderthal Medicinal Practices May Have Included Use of Birch Tar as an Antibiotic According to New Experimental Study

New study confirms birch tar used by Neanderthals has antibacterial properties, suggesting early human cousins treated wounds with the resin.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 18, 2026, 2:49 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from PLOS

Reevaluating the Complexity of Neanderthal Healthcare

A study published in PLOS One led by researcher Tjaark Siemssen has provided new evidence that Neanderthals utilized a sophisticated range of medical practices to mitigate disease. While birch tar has long been identified as an adhesive used by early humans to assemble stone tools, scientists are now exploring its multi-functional role in ancient societies. Drawing parallels to modern Indigenous communities in Canada and Northern Europe who use birch bark extracts for wound care, the research team investigated whether Neanderthals recognized the substance's therapeutic potential. The findings reinforce a growing body of evidence suggesting that Neanderthal culture included deliberate and effective healthcare strategies.

Experimental Archaeology and Primitive Distillation

To test the medicinal efficacy of ancient materials, the team utilized two extraction methods that would have been available to Pleistocene populations: distillation in a clay pit and condensation against stone surfaces. By extracting tar from modern birch species known to have existed at Neanderthal archaeological sites, the researchers were able to recreate the viscous substance in its original form. These experiments bridged the gap between indigenous pharmacology and experimental archaeology, allowing the team to analyze the chemical properties of a material produced under "Ice Age" conditions. The process was described by the authors as a highly sensory and "messy" experience, involving hours of fire-side monitoring.

Confirmed Efficacy Against Wound Infections

The core of the study involved exposing various samples of the produced birch tar to different strains of bacteria. The results were definitive: every sample tested was effective at hindering the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria, a common culprit in wound infections. This confirms that the tar possesses innate antibiotic properties that would have been invaluable for a species living in harsh, injury-prone environments. By treating cuts and abrasions with this resin, Neanderthals could have significantly reduced their disease burden, an essential factor for survival during the last Ice Ages when infection was a leading threat to life.