Antik dişler 25 bin yıllık bir bitki alışkanlığını gösteriyor

Researchers studying human remains from Sulawesi, Indonesia, have found evidence that betel nut was consumed far earlier than previously recognised. Two hunter-gatherers, one dating to between 25,000 and 16,000 years ago and the other to between 7,600 and 6,300 years ago, displayed unusual deep, rounded grooves on their teeth. Archaeological observations showed that this wear was consistent with repeatedly sucking whole areca nuts. Laboratory experiments found that sucking an intact nut could release enough arecoline, its main neuroactive compound, to have a physiological effect, while biochemical analysis detected arecoline in the ancient dental tissue. Taken together, the evidence suggests that habitual psychoactive plant use may have existed among foragers long before agriculture. The researchers also propose that the practice might have relieved toothache at first, even though prolonged use caused severe dental damage. The discovery does not establish the precise motive in every case, but it extends the possible history of a still widespread habit deep into the Late Pleistocene.