Ancient Evidence of Drug Use Found in Indonesia

Research from Griffith University in Australia suggests that humans may have used mind altering substances as far back as 25,000 years ago. The study, published in Science Advances, analyzed the skeletal remains of two early human foragers from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. One individual is dated to between 25,000 and 16,000 years ago, while the other lived between 7,600 and 6,300 years ago. Both individuals exhibited unusual dental wear patterns consisting of deep, rounded tooth grooves. Researchers concluded these marks were caused by the habitual sucking of betel nuts, which are the seeds of the Areca catechu palm.

Betel nuts induce mild euphoria and heightened awareness. They remain the fourth most widely used psychoactive substance globally, used by approximately one tenth of the world population. The researchers conducted experiments soaking betel nuts in artificial saliva, finding that sucking on the intact seeds released enough psychoactive compounds to alter brain function. This discovery challenges previous theories that drug use began after the advent of farming, such as the consumption of fermented alcohol about 13,000 years ago.

While the center leaning source focuses on the discovery as evidence of early drug taking and its link to modern forager traditions, the center right leaning source adds a different perspective on the motivation. The center right source notes that the researchers did not necessarily interpret the practice as recreational, suggesting the betel nuts might have been used for their analgesic effects to relieve chronic toothaches.