Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds
Analysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for human drug taking
TL;DR
- Skeletons from Indonesian island of Sulawesi, aged 7,000 to 25,000 years old, show unusual tooth wear.
- Traces of arecoline, a psychoactive compound, were found in the teeth.
- This suggests ancient foragers routinely sucked on betel nuts (Areca catechu seeds).
- The habit may have been an attempt to alleviate toothache, but potentially worsened dental pain over time.
- This discovery could be the earliest evidence of human psychoactive drug use.
- Betel nuts are the world's fourth most widely used psychoactive substance.