Most Delicious Poison: From Spices to Vices – The Story of Nature's Toxins

by Noah Whiteman

One Neanderthal individual, known as El Sidrón Adult 1, or more affectionately as “Sid,” was probably quite ill when he died. The scientists suspected this condition because Sid had a dental abscess and was infected with a microsporidian pathogen that causes a diarrheal disease. (Poor Sid!). Sid’s tartar contained traces of toxins from yarrow and chamomile plants, including chamazulene, as well as DNA sequences from poplar trees and the fungus Penicillium. Poplar trees are a traditional source of salicylic acid, a type of salicylate used to make aspirin. Penicillium species are molds that produce the antibiotic penicillin. Sid may have been treating himself for his ailments, or he may have been treated by another Neanderthal, using the same medicinals we use today, some fifty thousand years later.