Seeds and preserved hair in tomb point to oldest signs of cannabis high 2,800 years ago, study suggests

Key Points:

• Archaeologists from Germany, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland discovered cannabis seeds and analyzed human hair in a 3,000-year-old royal tomb in southern Siberia, providing new insights into ancient cannabis use among the Scythians.
• The presence of over 1,000 cannabis seeds and preserved hair containing active compounds suggests the plant held cultural or ritual significance, though it remains unclear whether it was consumed by inhalation or ingestion.
• The study, published in Science, faced criticism from some experts who questioned the hair analysis methods and argued that the evidence does not conclusively prove cannabis consumption rather than external contamination.
• Other scholars praised the research for its innovative methodology, noting that toxicological hair analysis has been used previously to identify psychoactive substance use in archaeology.
• The findings contribute to ongoing debates about the role of cannabis in ancient societies, highlighting the need for corroborating evidence beyond historical texts and artifact presence.