Betel nut, one of the most commonly used drugs in the world, appears to have an ancient history.
Fossilised remains of two people, found by archaeologists on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, carry traces of the psychoactive substance in their jaws.
One of the fossils is dated between 16,000 and 25,000 years old, making it the oldest known example of human drug use by at least 3000 years.
The discovery was published today in the journal Science Advances.
Adam Brumm, the study’s lead author and an archaeologist at Griffith University, said the two people probably sucked on betel nuts like “gobstoppers”.
Professor Brumm, who tried the method himself, said it numbed the mouth.
“I suspect that was the effect that they were after,” he said.
RNZ
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One of the fossils is dated between 16,000 and 25,000 years old, making it the oldest known example of human drug use by at least 3000 years.
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