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Earliest evidence of arecoline drug use found 25,000 years ago

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 11:09 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Griffith University researchers led by Prof. Adam Brumm identified betel-nut use in Indonesia 25,000 years ago.
Two Sulawesi skeletons dated 25,000-16,000 and 7,600-6,300 years ago showed deep tooth grooves.
Researchers linked the grooves to habitual whole-nut sucking, a psychoactive habit.
Chemical analysis detected the alkaloid arecoline in the dental tissues of both individuals.
Findings push the earliest known human drug use back to the Late Pleistocene, predating agriculture.

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Story summary

Griffith University researchers led by Prof. Adam Brumm identified betel-nut use in Indonesia 25,000 years ago.
Two Sulawesi skeletons dated 25,000-16,000 and 7,600-6,300 years ago showed deep tooth grooves.
Researchers linked the grooves to habitual whole-nut sucking, a psychoactive habit.
Chemical analysis detected the alkaloid arecoline in the dental tissues of both individuals.
Findings push the earliest known human drug use back to the Late Pleistocene, predating agriculture.