Drugs before farming: Humans were getting high 25,000 years ago

Humans may have been using mind-altering substances much earlier than previously thought.

New evidence from Indonesia suggests hunter-gatherers were getting a mild “high” from betel nuts as far back as 25,000 years ago, thousands of years before farming even began.

Researchers from Griffith University, working with Indonesian archaeologists, found evidence of habitual betel nut use in the teeth of ancient people from Sulawesi.

The findings, published in Science Advances, could represent the earliest known evidence of habitual drug use.

The team examined the remains of two early human foragers.

One lived between 25,000 and 16,000 years ago, while the other lived between 7,600 and 6,300 years ago.

Both had an unusual pattern of deep, rounded grooves in their teeth, which researchers identified as a sign of repeatedly sucking whole betel nuts.

But the teeth offered more than just physical clues.

Chemical analysis also detected arecoline, the main mind-altering compound in betel nuts, inside the dental tissues of the ancient individuals.

Experiments carried out by the researchers further showed that simply sucking an intact betel nut can release enough arecoline to affect the brain.

“This showed that just sucking on intact betel nuts will release arecoline in sufficient amounts to have a physiological effect, altering brain function,” Professor Adam Brumm told Science Daily. A portrait of lead author Professor Adam Brumm. (Photo: Griffith University) DRUG HABIT OLDER THAN FARMINGToday, betel nut is widely used across parts of Asia and the Pacific, and it can produce mild euphoria and increased alertness.

Modern users generally chew the processed seed of the Areca catechu palm with slaked lime and other ingredients.

The lime helps release the nut's psychoactive compounds more rapidly.

“Although poorly known in western societies, it is the world’s fourth most widely used psychoactive substance, after alcohol, caffeine and nicotine,” Brumm said.

The new discovery pushes its history far beyond the period when agriculture emerged. An image of betel nuts that humans were chewing 25,000 years ago. (Photo: Pixabay)

Earlier evidence had suggested that widespread traditions of psychoactive drug use developed after farming, with some of the oldest known examples including fermented drinks made about 13,000 years ago.

“However, this theory fails to account for the possibility that very ancient drug-taking lies at the roots of our most commonly used psychoactive substances,” Brumm said.PAIN RELIEF COULD BE A REASON

The researchers suspect there could have been another reason for the ancient habit.

Arecoline can act as a natural painkiller, and the ancient foragers generally had poor dental health. Sucking betel nuts may therefore have helped ease toothache. An image of the ancient remains of humans found in Indonesia. (Photo: Griffith University)

But prolonged use came with a cost.

The hard seeds gradually wore down their teeth, sometimes exposing the inner pulp and increasing the risk of chronic infection.

“Emerging by up to 25,000 years ago in Sulawesi, thus long preceding the onset of agriculture," Brumm said, "betel nut-sucking may be the earliest evidence for drug use anywhere in the world.”- EndsPublished By: Aryan Published On: Sep 12, 2026 12:05 IST