Ancient teeth reveal humans were getting high 25,000 years ago
Archaeological evidence from Indonesia suggests that humans were using betel nut as a psychoactive stimulant as early as 25,000 years ago. This finding challenges the previous theory that drug use only emerged alongside the development of agriculture in the Neolithic period.
Why it matters
This discovery shifts our understanding of human cultural evolution, suggesting that the use of psychoactive substances is a much older and more deeply rooted human behavior than previously believed.
Archaeologists from Griffith University have found evidence suggesting that humans were using mind-altering substances much earlier in time than scientists once thought.
The research was led by Professor Adam Brumm of Griffith's Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), together with ARCHE colleagues Associate Professors Carney Matheson and Michelle Langley. By combining archaeological evidence with biochemical testing, the team traced the deep history of "betel nut," one of the world's most widely used addictive stimulants and a long-established psychoactive substance across much of the Asia Pacific region.
Working with Indonesian archaeologists from Makassar's University of Hasanuddin and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the researchers found evidence that some communities in Indonesia were using betel nut as a drug as far back as 25,000 years ago. That pushes the practice far beyond earlier estimates that placed its beginnings in the Neolithic or Bronze Age (~3500 years ago).
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