Seeds, preserved hair in tomb point to oldest signs of cannabis high 2,800 years ago, study suggests
Chemical analysis of preserved hair found THC and cannabinol, supporting the view that cannabis was used in funerary rituals.
- On Thursday, a study published in the journal Science identified the earliest direct evidence of psychoactive cannabis use in a 2,800-year-old Siberian tomb located in the Uyuk Valley.
- Archaeologist Gino Caspari of the University of Bern led the investigation of Tunnug 1, a burial mound from the early 8th century BCE containing high-status Scythians interred with elaborate grave goods and sacrificed horses.
- Researchers recovered more than 1,400 cannabis seeds from the site and analyzed preserved human hair, revealing chemical signatures matching cannabinol and THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis.
- Caspari noted the cannabis use likely occurred within a ritual context, possibly connected to shamanistic beliefs, with burial arrangements suggesting the substance may have sedated victims during displays of extreme social power.
- Researchers are now sequencing the ancient cannabis DNA to understand domestication history, providing a cultural anchor point for modern debates on legalization and demonstrating how ancient societies ritualized psychoactive plants.
93 Articles
93 Articles
Molecular traces of cannabis have been found in human hair preserved in a 2,800-year-old princely tomb in southern Siberia. The find from the Tunug 1 archaeological site in the Uyuk Valley has been identified by the research team as the oldest directly dated archaeological evidence of the plant’s use for its intoxicating properties. The tomb is located in the Russian republic of Tuva and is associated with an early Scythian culture. About 1,000 …
A chemical analysis of the hair of several individuals buried in southern Siberia has provided the oldest direct evidence of cannabis use due to its psychoactive effects.
An archaeologist at the University of Bern, Gino Kaspari, found 2,800 years of human hair with traces of cannabis in the Siberian Kurgan of Tunnug, which was the earliest evidence of the use of the plant as a drug. Archaeologists also examined the king ' s Kurgan Tunnug 1 in the Uyuk Valley in southern Siberia and found almost a thousand whole cannabis seeds in the central trench. A radiocarbon analysis showed that they had been left there …
Evidence that early humans smoked cannabis has been found in a 2,800-year-old Siberian tomb. Hallucinogenic substances were detected in the hair, and cannabis seeds were also excavated. This is the oldest direct evidence showing that cannabis was smoked for hallucinogenic purposes. A research team led by Dr. Gino Caspari of the Max Planck Institute for Earth Anthropology in Germany stated, “Tunnugu (Tu
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