Birch bark tar (sometimes referred to as birch bark pitch) is a substance that is synthesized by dry distillation of birch tree bark. Birch bark tar is mainly composed of triterpenoid compounds of the lupane and oleanane family, which can be used as biomarkers to identify birch bark tar in the archaeological record.

Jul 18, 2020 · Birch bark tar is made from birch bark heated in a ‘condensing pot’ or oven with little air. It’s a similar process to making charcoal. The birch bark tar, mostly betulin, sweats out of the bark and runs to the bottom of the oven. The oil is …

The birch bark tar is absolutely water proof and can be used to seal leather seams on moccasins or boots. It is not brittle like pine or spruce pitch. It fills gaps when hafting arrow and dart points.

Oct 10, 2024 · Another thing that you can use to make tar is birch bark. These can be burned over a fire which will yield a considerable amount of tar. Here are a few tips to help you determine if you can harvest the bark and how to do it:

Dec 24, 2019 · Birch bark tar was used in prehistoric times in England. Now, researchers have discovered that this manufactured product was even used in early medieval England.

Sep 7, 2023 · To measure the biomarkers of Palaeolithic birch bark tar we produced tar using five distinct processes (Fig. 1). Four methods could have been employed by Neanderthals using materials and ...

Nov 1, 2021 · Birch tar making requires a method that allows to distil tar from the bark and that has been interpreted to require advanced cognitive capacities (e.g., [6]). Perhaps the best-understood birch...

Apr 3, 2018 · Our experimental production of birch bark tar has shown that bark quality is of crucial importance to produce tar. Harvesting a supple and smooth bark was essential to obtain tar with the single-pot process.

Birch bark tar, the oldest adhesive known in Europe, was widely used during Prehistory. This material, produced by the dry distillation of birch bark, has been identified in various spheres of activities and provides valuable information on the know-how and technical and territorial systems of past societies.

Our findings show that, even during the Iron Age in north-eastern France, birch bark tar is one of the best-preserved adhesive substances, used for at least 400 years. To a lesser extent, Pinaceae resin and beeswax were also identified.