While the important news is the DNA recovery, I’m more than a little curious about the chaw and its purpose.
1. Was it, in the words of a modern company, a “mild sweet chew.”
2. Purpose: Was it dietary (Man, I’m starving. Here, chew some cactus.)
3. Purpose: I know that yucca cactus has been made into soap and candles. Were they brushing their teeth or simply extracting material for candles?
They might have been chewing it to get the fiber. Yucca fiber is very strong, and the Indians wove it into cord and rope.
The leaves are tough, coarse, and waxy...I can’t imagine that anyone would want to chew it for food or pleasure.