Researchers have identified wear patterns on ancient human remains in Indonesia that suggest early hunter-gatherers used betel nuts, a practice that may date back tens of thousands of years. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, indicate that people were interacting with the psychoactive seeds long before modern chewing habits emerged.
Adam Brumm, an archaeology professor at Griffith University in Australia who led the study, described the discovery as a chance find that reveals an initial stage in the development of a drug widely used today. “We think it might have started with hunter-gatherers just sucking on the nuts, almost as though they were gobstoppers,” Brumm said.
The investigation began during an excavation in Sulawesi, Indonesia, where Brumm and his team unearthed the remains of a hunter-gatherer who lived approximately 25,000 years ago. The skeleton featured unusual grooves in the teeth that baffled specialists. Brumm reached out to leading experts in ancient dental wear globally, but none could explain the origin of the marks. Subsequently, researchers found a second set of remains about 20 miles to the east, belonging to someone who lived around 8,000 years ago. These teeth displayed similar, deep grooves that had exposed the pulp cavities, indicating the wear likely developed over decades of repeated action.
The team ruled out common prehistoric behaviors, such as using teeth as tools to hold or break materials or processing plant fibers into string. Instead, Brumm drew a parallel to colonial-era laborers in Europe, America, and Australia who smoked tobacco from clay pipes. Over time, these smokers developed rounded notches in their teeth where the pipe stems rested, a pattern Brumm compared to the Indonesian finds.
Betel nuts, the brownish-green seeds of certain palm trees roughly the size of walnuts, are consumed by an estimated 600 million people today, primarily in Asia and the Pacific. Users report benefits such as improved digestion, fresh breath, and increased energy. However, the medical community warns that long-term use can damage teeth, raise the risk of heart disease, and cause oral cancer. Despite these risks, betel nut remains the fourth most commonly used mind-altering substance worldwide, following tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine.
While the evidence is compelling, some experts note it is not conclusive. José Capriles, an associate professor of anthropology at Penn State University, emphasized that substance use has deep roots in human history. He noted that the instinct to experiment with substances to expand one’s horizons appears to be an inherent part of human nature, citing previous discoveries of drugs used in South America a thousand years ago.
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