Getting high in Siberia a long time ago! 😊
Maybe these people were only eating, but not smoking these plants?
"... Now, researchers have discovered evidence of cannabis use around 2800 years ago —a few hundred years earlier than existing, indirect evidence of the plant’s use. The discovery comes from a Scythian burial mound in southern Siberia, where researchers uncovered more than 1400 tiny cannabis seeds.
Radiocarbon dating revealed they were likely deposited in the 8th century B.C.E., around the time the burial mound was constructed.
The researchers also found preserved human hair at the burial site; a chemical analysis revealed the presence of the compound cannabinol in the hair, which is produced from THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. ..."
"... The seeds recovered from the grave likely stem from wild plants. It is not possible to determine from this whether they were specifically cultivated for their psychoactive properties. Their presence in a grave does not, in and of itself, prove the psychoactive use of cannabis.
This became apparent only through the analysis of the hair: In several of the hair samples examined, the researchers found clear signals consistent with cannabinol (CBN). CBN is produced, among other things, by the oxidation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the most important intoxicating compound in cannabis. In addition, the team detected weak signals that, based on their mass, are consistent with THC. High-resolution mass spectrometry, among other methods, was used to analyze the hair samples.
According to the researchers, the hair analyses indicate cannabis use. However, they do not allow for a reliable determination of the amount consumed. ...
However, they do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the THC content of the plants from that time. Neither has it been possible so far to determine whether the plants were specifically selected or cultivated for higher levels of active compounds. ..."
From the editor's summary and abstract:
"Editor’s summary
Psychoactive plants are used globally today, with increasing evidence of medicinal value and, in some cases, decreasing illegality.
Cannabis is one of the most widely used and cultivated of these plants. The prevalence of past usage, particularly for ritual purposes, has often been suggested, but making conclusions about its use for psychoactive properties has been difficult. Cannabis plants are ephemeral, and even the presence of plant parts and seeds could be an indication of cultivation for its many other useful properties.
Caspari et al. found cannabis plant parts in a 2800-year-old tomb in Siberia and also identified its psychoactive compounds in hair found within the tomb, suggesting ritualistic psychoactive use. ...
Abstract
Cannabis is the world’s most-used illicit psychoactive plant, yet direct prehistoric evidence for its consumption is rare.
In this study, we present the earliest direct evidence of cannabis use: offerings of plant parts and chemical compounds in ancient human hair recovered from a monumental tomb in Siberia.
The findings suggest that the plant was used for its psychoactive qualities across Eurasia, where specific wild populations might have had naturally higher active compound levels.
We show that the practice of cannabis consumption dates back at least 2800 years, anchoring debates around contemporary usage and informing discussions on cannabis in medicine, public health, law, and industry."
Cannabis was used as an intoxicant as early as 2,800 years ago (original news release) "An international research team led by the University of Bern has discovered cannabis seeds and molecular traces of psychoactive cannabis compounds in human hair in a princely tomb in Siberia. Radiocarbon dates place the seeds in the early eighth century BCE. According to the research team, this is the oldest directly dated evidence to date for the intoxicating use of cannabis."
Direct evidence for psychoactive cannabis use 2800 years ago (no public access)
Cannabis seeds were uncovered during the excavation of a tomb in the South Siberian Republic of Tyva. The seeds are not easy to spot in the excavation context.
Preserved human hair from the graves made it possible to detect cannabis use.
The Tunnug 1 archaeological excavation site in southern Siberia.
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