It's hard to imagine, but chewing gun is one of the oldest candies in the world. For thousands of years, people of all cultures have enjoyed the many benefits of gum.
Many years ago it seems that prehistoric men and women chewed on lumps of tree resin for pure enjoyment, making them the first-ever gum chewers in recorded history. Back before Christ was born, prehistoric man was believed to have developed a craving for something other than berries and mammal flesh. A sharp grinding tool was used to shave the break off of certain trees and resins and saps were extracted for a better yet satisfying treat. Women would gather clumps of sweet grasses and collect leaves from trees to chew on as well. .
A study has found that almost every culture has chomped gum. Ancient Greeks routinely gnawed on tree resin to clean their teeth and freshen their breath and called it "mastiche". It was practically a requirement for the women to have fresh breath. Indians chewed on the sap from trees. The Maya Indians chewed chicle. Early settlers bit into hardened tree sap and beeswax. In about the year 800, the Mayan civilization met its end for reasons still largely unknown. Virtually the only Mayan practice retained intact was that of chewing gum. The temples, the roads, the calendar, the great cities-all these were abandoned. But chewing gum remained. .
Meanwhile, the American Indians of New England were also chewing gum but made from the resin of spruce trees. Spruce gum continued to be sold, being replace gradually by paraffin wax gum. Paraffin gum required the heat and moisture of the mouth to render it suitable for chewing and was replaced as a base of all regular gums. .
A Mexican general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was searching for a substitute for rubber. He thought that chicle would fit the purpose. Santa Anna contacted an American inventor Thomas Adams but found it unsuitable as a rubber base.