Evidence of habitual drug use may date back as far as 25,000 years, when hunter-gatherers on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi regularly consumed betel nuts, according to a recent study.
Researchers examining ancient human remains found evidence consistent with the habitual sucking of betel nuts, which contain the psychoactive compound arecoline. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
The discovery provides the earliest recorded evidence of the habitual use of a neuroactive plant drug, according to researchers.
The evidence comes from dental remains showing distinctive wear associated with repeatedly sucking whole betel nuts. Chemical analysis also detected arecoline in dental tissue, providing additional evidence that the individuals had consumed the nuts.
The researchers said the practice emerged as early as 25,000 years ago and continued into the Late Pleistocene, thousands of years before the emergence of agriculture.
