Betel nut traces in 25,000-year-old teeth point to early human drug use (www.abc.net.au)

submitted 1 week ago by Quokka@quokk.au to c/science@mander.xyz

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In short:

Archaeologists have found evidence of a person who used a psychoactive drug up to 25,000 years ago.

Tooth fossils in Indonesia suggest that ancient foragers in the region were sucking on betel nut, possibly as a painkiller.
What's next?

Human drug use is probably older than this sample, but evidence is harder to come by.

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[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

i just assume people would drug it the fuck up the moment they evolve the ability to actively think "hm, chewing these leaves makes me feel funny"

so presumably our ancestors were having drinking nights before even leaving the trees, just finding half-rotten fruit and.. squishing open a.. warm one.. with the lads

this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2026

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