Animal glue

An animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue. An animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue. These protein colloid glues are formed through hydrolysis of the collagen from skins, bones, tendons, and other tissues, similar to gelatin. The word 'collagen' itself derives from Greek κόλλα kolla, glue. These proteins form a molecular bond with the glued object. Stereotypically, the animal in question is a horse, and horses that are put down are often said to have been 'sent to the glue factory'. However, other animals are also used, including rabbits and fish. Animal glue has existed since ancient times, although its usage was not widespread. Glue deriving from horse tooth can be dated back nearly 6000 years, but no written records from these times can prove that they were fully or extensively utilized. The first known written procedures of making animal glue were written about 2000 BC. Between 1500–1000 BC, it was used for wood furnishings and mural paintings, found even on the caskets of Egyptian Pharaohs. Evidence is in the form of stone carvings depicting glue preparation and use, primarily utilized for the pharaoh’s tomb’s furniture. Egyptian records tell that animal glue would be made by melting it over a fire and then applied with a brush. Greeks and Romans later used animal and fish glue to develop veneering and marquetry, the bonding of thin sections or layers of wood. Animal glue, known as taurokolla in Greek and gluten taurinum in Latin, were made from the skins of bulls in antiquity. Broken pottery might also be repaired with the use of animal glues, filling the cracks to hide imperfections. About 906–618 BC, China utilized fish, ox, and stag horns to produce adhesives and binders for pigments. Animal glues were employed as binders in paint media during the Tang Dynasty. Records indicate that one of the essential components of lampblack ink was proteinaceous glue. Ox glue and stag-horn glues bound particles of pigments together, acting as a preservative by forming a film over the surface as the ink dried. The Chinese, such as Kao Gong Ji, also researched glue for medicinal purposes. The use of animal glue, as well as some other types of glues, largely vanished in Europe after the decline of the Western Roman Empire until the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, when wooden furniture started to surge as a major craft. During the medieval ages, fish glue remained a source for painting and illuminating manuscripts. Since the 16th century, hide glue has been used in the construction of violins. Native Americans would use hoof glue primarily as a binder and as a water-resistant coating by boiling it down from leftover animal parts and applying it to exposed surfaces. They occasionally used hide glue as paint to achieve patterns after applying pigments and tanning to hides. Hoof glue would be used for purposes aside from hides, such as a hair preservative. The Assiniboins preferred longer hair, so they would plaster the strands with a mixture of red earth and hoof glue. It would also be used to bind feathers and equipment together.