Ancient Indonesian Foragers Chewed Betel Nuts 25,000 Years Ago, Study Finds

Analysis of two exceptionally rare pre-agricultural skeletons from Sulawesi, Indonesia, revealed deep, rounded grooves in the teeth that exposed the dental pulp. Chemical testing of the dental tissue detected traces of arecoline, the psychoactive alkaloid in betel (Areca catechu) nuts. One individual dates to roughly 7,000 years ago; the other falls between 16,000 and 25,000 years ago. The researchers infer that the wear resulted from repeatedly sucking on hard, abrasive betel nuts, a habit that likely produced a mild “high” and may have been used to alleviate tooth pain, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of use.

The Guardian

Betel nuts are the world’s fourth most widely used psychoactive substance after alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, with an estimated one-tenth of the global population chewing the seeds today. In contemporary Asia-Pacific cultures the nuts are typically wrapped in betel vine leaves and mixed with slaked lime to intensify the psychoactive effect. The new findings push back the archaeological record of human drug use, which previously traced the oldest traditions to fermented barley beer about 13,000 years ago.

The Guardian

• Two adult foragers examined; one dated ~7 ka, the other 16–25 ka.

The Guardian

• Dental grooves deep enough to reach pulp chambers, indicating prolonged abrasive exposure.

The Guardian

• Presence of arecoline confirmed in tooth tissue, matching laboratory tests that showed artificial-saliva-soaked nuts release enough arecoline to induce a mild high.

The Guardian

Prof Adam Brumm of Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution said the discovery illustrates how a common modern habit may have evolved from prehistoric practices. He suggested the foragers might have initially used the nut’s numbing effect as a remedy for toothache, inadvertently causing severe dental wear.

The Guardian

• “We’ve found evidence for how this very common drug use habit, which is found throughout a lot of the Asia-Pacific region today, might have evolved,” — Prof Adam Brumm, at Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution in Brisbane

The Guardian

• “I was thinking, 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,” — Brumm. Betel

The Guardian

• “I’ve sucked on a nut as an experiment and it’s a really bitter, astringent taste. It makes your mouth go numb and I think that’s what they were interested in,” — Prof Adam Brumm, at Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution in Brisbane

The Guardian