Story perspectives

25,000-Year-Old Betel Nut Use Shows Earliest Arecoline Evidence

9/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Australian researchers led by Prof Adam Brumm identified 25,000-year-old betel-nut use in Indonesia.
Two Sulawesi skeletons showed deep, rounded tooth grooves that sometimes exposed the dental pulp.
The grooves indicate the individuals habitually sucked hard, abrasive betel nuts.
Chemical analysis detected traces of the psychoactive compound arecoline in the teeth.
Dr Elisa Guerra-Doce called the findings the earliest direct evidence of human psychoactive plant use.

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Story summary

Australian researchers led by Prof Adam Brumm identified 25,000-year-old betel-nut use in Indonesia.
Two Sulawesi skeletons showed deep, rounded tooth grooves that sometimes exposed the dental pulp.
The grooves indicate the individuals habitually sucked hard, abrasive betel nuts.
Chemical analysis detected traces of the psychoactive compound arecoline in the teeth.
Dr Elisa Guerra-Doce called the findings the earliest direct evidence of human psychoactive plant use.