Researchers analyzing two ancient skeletons from Indonesia found dramatic dental wear and traces of arecoline, suggesting people may have sucked psychoactive areca nuts as far back as 25,000 years ago. The finding could represent the earliest known evidence of psychoactive plant use, while also shedding light on a practice that remains widespread today despite serious health risks.
We already know that plants and fungi have accompanied humanity since the dawn of time. And yes, some of them have psychotropic properties. But now we have more evidence—in fact, the oldest known to date—that people have been seeking altered states of consciousness since basically forever.
Australian researchers discovered two skeletons on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, whose teeth were not only deeply worn down but also contained traces of arecoline. This psychoactive substance is found in the areca nut, also known as betel nut.
According to the study, such extreme dental wear (so deep that it exposed the dental pulp) may have been caused by constantly sucking on the nuts, thereby releasing arecoline, their main neuroactive alkaloid. This would produce a mild high, along with a numbing effect.
At first, the deep grooves in the teeth puzzled the researchers who discovered the skeletons (one about 7,000 years old and the other between 16,000 and 25,000 years old). “What the hell were these people doing? It’s like someone had a drill head shaped like a gobstopper and wore away the inner part of the tooth,” Adam Brumm, the study’s lead researcher, commented, according to The Guardian.
“Imagine you kept a stone in your mouth and you moved it from one part of your mouth to another, and if you did that day after day, hour after hour. Eventually it would wear down your extremely hard dental tissue to form these grooves,” he explained. …
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Author: Marian Venini / High Times
