Humans may have used popular addictive stimulant 25,000 years ago
Archaeologists have discovered evidence that prehistoric foragers in Indonesia were using betel nuts as early as 25,000 years ago. This finding suggests that human use of psychoactive substances began significantly earlier than the previously estimated 13,000-year-old Neolithic Revolution.
Why it matters
It challenges long-held anthropological theories regarding the timeline of human drug use and the development of social habits.
The prehistoric remains of two foragers found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi contain telltale signs that humans began using a mind-altering drug thousands of years earlier than known. The betel nut, a fruit seed from the areca palm, is considered the fourth most widely used psychoactive substance in the world after caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. About 1 in 10 people today, largely across Asia and the Pacific, practice the tradition of chewing a quid, or processed betel nut mixed with slaked lime. The slaked lime, also known as calcium hydroxide, is essential for triggering a chemical reaction that expedites the absorption of the psychoactive compound arecoline into the bloodstream. Users experience mild euphoria and heightened alertness when chewing the quid. But when did humans first begin experimenting with psychoactive substances?
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