Humans may have been using psychoactive substances as far back as 25,000 years ago, according to a study that found evidence of habitual betel nut use among prehistoric hunter-gatherers in Indonesia.
Researchers identified chemical traces and distinctive wear patterns in the teeth of two individuals from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Their findings suggest the ancient communities may have regularly chewed or sucked whole betel nuts thousands of years before the development of farming, cities and written language.
The study, published in Science Advances, provides some of the earliest direct evidence of habitual psychoactive plant use.
Clues hidden in ancient teeth
The discovery began with unusual marks found on the teeth of two prehistoric individuals who lived thousands of years apart.
One individual was estimated to have lived between 16,000 and 25,000 years ago, while the other lived approximately 6,300 to 7,600 years ago. Both had unusually deep, rounded grooves on their teeth.
Researchers concluded that the marks could have been produced by repeatedly holding and sucking a hard, rounded object.
Betel nuts appeared to be a strong match. The nuts are the seeds of the areca palm and contain arecoline, a psychoactive compound that affects the human nervous system.
Chemical analysis of the ancient teeth detected arecoline, providing further evidence that the individuals had used betel nuts.
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Betel nuts may have relieved tooth pain
Researchers also tested whole betel nuts in artificial saliva and found that sucking the nuts could release arecoline.
Betel nut use can produce mild feelings of euphoria and increased alertness, while also causing numbness in the mouth.
That numbing effect may have been particularly important for the prehistoric users.
Both individuals examined by researchers had significant dental problems, leading scientists to suggest that they may have used betel nuts to relieve tooth pain.
However, the practice may also have contributed to further dental damage. Repeatedly holding or sucking hard betel nuts could wear down teeth, potentially creating a cycle in which people continued using them to relieve discomfort caused partly by the habit itself.
An ancient practice that continues today
The findings push evidence of habitual psychoactive plant use thousands of years further into the past.
Betel nut remains widely consumed today, with hundreds of millions of people using it in various forms. It is considered one of the world’s most widely used psychoactive substances, alongside alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.
The study provides a glimpse into how prehistoric communities may have discovered and incorporated mind-altering plants into their daily lives long before written records documented such practices.
