Study: Neanderthals Used Aspirin, Penicillin

Scientists, who have studied the oldest dental plaque from our nearest extinct relatives, say that Neanderthals used primitive versions of aspirin and penicillin to treat themselves 40,000 years ago.

Researchers from University of Adelaide in Australia and University of Liverpool in Britain recently analysed and compared dental plaque samples from four Neanderthals found at the cave sites of Spy in Belgium and El Sidron in Spain. These four samples, ranging from 42,000 to around 50,000-year-old, are the oldest dental plaque ever to be genetically analysed.

Alan Cooper, the Director of Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD, the University of Adelaide), said: "We found that Neanderthals from Spy Cave consumed woolly rhinoceros and European wild sheep, supplemented with wild mushrooms." He also said that they found Methanobrevibacter, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Populus...