Birch tar made with reconstructed prehistoric methods inhibited Staphylococcus aureus in a 2026 laboratory test, but showed no measurable effect against Escherichia coli. The finding makes medicinal use by Neanderthals a possibility worth investigating—not a demonstrated fact. The experiment also does not establish birch tar as a safe or effective treatment today.
What the 2026 experiment found
In a peer-reviewed study published March 18, 2026, Tjaark Siemssen and colleagues made birch tar from European birch species using reconstructed archaeological techniques, including a condensation method and a raised structure, as well as a modern tin method. They tested the samples against two bacteria with a modified Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion assay. Read the study in PLOS ONE.
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One tested bacterium was inhibited
Some tar samples produced inhibition zones against S. aureus, a Gram-positive bacterium associated with wound infections. The study abstract reports results from no effect to 10.5 ± 0.7 mm, with a mean of 7.5 ± 0.17 mm. The strongest sample was made from Betula pendula using a raised structure. These are measurements from a laboratory assay, not measures of wound healing or clinical effectiveness.
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The other bacterium was not measurably affected
None of the samples produced measurable inhibition against E. coli beyond the 6 mm disc used in the assay. As a positive control, gentamicin produced inhibition zones of 22–23 mm against both bacteria. That comparison describes the test results; it does not establish how birch tar would perform as a medicine.
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Does this show Neanderthals used birch tar on wounds?
No. Birch tar is well documented as an adhesive in Neanderthal-associated contexts, including for hafting stone tools. The antibacterial experiment tested tar made by researchers today; it did not test ancient wound treatment or establish why prehistoric people used tar.
The authors argue that use beyond toolmaking should be considered, drawing on the laboratory result and ethnographic examples of medicinal use of birch tar or bark. That is a hypothesis, not direct evidence of Neanderthal medical practice. The lead author, archaeologist Tjaark Siemssen, told Science News: “Applying it to wounds is something we should consider.” His comment describes a possibility for investigation, not proof of ancient intent or advice for treating wounds now.
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What archaeology can—and cannot—tell us about the glue
Evidence for adhesive use
Archaeological residues and hafted tools support the use of birch tar as an adhesive during the Middle Paleolithic. Experimental literature discusses birch-tar-hafted tools from Campitello, Italy, dated to roughly 200,000 years ago. A 2019 PNAS experiment showed that tar can form when birch bark burns near a vertical or subvertical hard surface, such as a stone.
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A separate 2017 study found that multiple aceramic methods could produce tar suitable for hafting. These experiments help explain how adhesive might have been made, but the presence of tar alone cannot identify the precise method, prove a particular level of cognitive complexity, or reveal an additional medicinal purpose. The 2019 PNAS authors specifically cautioned that birch tar by itself cannot demonstrate modern cognition or complex cultural behavior.
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Is birch tar an antibiotic or a treatment today?
The study establishes only an in-vitro antibacterial effect against one of the two bacteria it tested. Its authors call for further chemical characterization, measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and standardized toxicological testing to assess cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and therapeutic suitability. The paper also estimates that 0.2 g of tar could cover about 100 cm² of skin as a thin layer; that estimate is not evidence that such application is safe or beneficial.
Accordingly, the findings do not show that birch tar is a proven antibiotic, that it can treat an infection, or that applying it to a wound is safe. The laboratory result is a starting point for further study, not a basis for self-treatment.
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