Collagen-based glues:
Land animals: hides and skins, tendons, cartilage, bones, teeth, antlers, and hooves (by-products of butchery and tanning)
Fish: skin, bones, heads, swim-bladders (isinglass, ichtyocolle)
Animal glues such as hide-glue are essentially unrefined gelatin, which can also be used as a binding agent in India ink (soot + glue). Gelatin was first used as an external surface sizing for paper in 1337 and continued as a dominant sizing agent of all European papers through the mid-19th century.
Hide Glue - playlist .
Casein-based glues (pdf):
Cheese glue, casein as binder in lime-ash flooring (video), (video in new window).
Albumin-based glue:
Egg yolk (tempura), serum albumin from blood
Starch pastes:
Wheatpaste (gluten proteins)
Gums:
Gum Arabic is collected from acacia trees, particularly Senegalia senegal.
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| Senegalia senegal source of Gum Arabic |
Resin (pitch) is an oleo-resin obtained by tapping the resinous sap of pines and other conifers, or by dry distillation (heating) of the wood and roots of pine. Rosin results from the solidification of fresh liquid resin by heating to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components.
Other natural gums are derived from colloids in marine plants, though this source might not have been known in the Middle Ages: algin (brown seaweeds, particularly species of Ascophyllum, Durvillaea, Ecklonia, Laminaria, Lessonia, and Macrocystis)
Making pine resin to attach arrowhead to shaft.
Making Pine Pitch Glue and Cutler’s Resin.
new window: Making Pine Pitch Glue and Cutler’s Resin.
Ray Mears Uses Pine Pitch Glue to attach arrowhead.
new window: Ray Mears Uses Pine Pitch Glue to attach arrowhead.
Resins, Tars, Natural Glues - Pine, Spruce, Birch - ID - anth >> .
Chewing starchy plants to make glue: Ray Mears attaching fletching, Hadza.
Open in new window: Ray Mears attaching fletching, Hadza.
Links:
Explanation of Adhesive (between substances) and Cohesive (within substance) Forces .
A History of Fish Glue as an Artist's Material.
Seaweeds Used as a Source of Alginates.
The Chemistry of Filled Animal Glue Systems.
History of Adhesives.
Primitive glue -- Ray Mears
https://youtu.be/Ik7GbPEqljg?t=7m
https://youtu.be/Th6EOlLK0DA?t=25m41s
History of Adhesives.
Primitive glue -- Ray Mears
https://youtu.be/Ik7GbPEqljg?t=7m
https://youtu.be/Th6EOlLK0DA?t=25m41s
How Neanderthals made the very first glue:
"The world's oldest known glue was made by Neanderthals. But how did they make it 200,000 years ago? Leiden archaeologists have discovered three possible ways."
Neanderthal 'glue' points to complex thinking: Traces of ancient "glue" on a stone tool from 50,000 years ago points to complex thinking by Neanderthals, experts say. The glue was made from birch tar in a process that required forward planning and involved several different steps. It adds to mounting evidence that we have underestimated the capabilities of our evolutionary cousins.
The Neanderthals That Taught Us About Humanity > .
"The world's oldest known glue was made by Neanderthals. But how did they make it 200,000 years ago? Leiden archaeologists have discovered three possible ways."
Neanderthal 'glue' points to complex thinking: Traces of ancient "glue" on a stone tool from 50,000 years ago points to complex thinking by Neanderthals, experts say. The glue was made from birch tar in a process that required forward planning and involved several different steps. It adds to mounting evidence that we have underestimated the capabilities of our evolutionary cousins.
The tool, found in the Netherlands, has spent the last 50,000 years under the North Sea. This may have helped preserve the tar adhesive. Only a handful of Neanderthal tools bear signs of adhesive, but experts say the process could have been widespread.
The Neanderthals That Taught Us About Humanity > .
