Earliest Known Drug Use Found: Betel Nuts Chewed 25,000 Years Ago in Indonesia

2026-09-09 18:00 UTC – 2026-09-11 11:40 UTC

Neutral summary

Archaeologists have uncovered what may be the earliest evidence of regular drug use in humans, with Indonesian hunter-gatherers sucking on whole betel nuts as far back as 25,000 years ago. The analysis of two exceptionally rare skeletons from the island of Sulawesi, published in Science Advances, revealed dramatic tooth wear and chemical traces of arecoline, a psychoactive substance in betel nuts. The find pushes back the known history of drug consumption by almost 20,000 years, to a period long before the rise of cultivation. The researchers, led by Adam Brumm of Griffith University, suggest the habit was well-established around then and may have caused significant tooth decay.

How it was framed

Outlets: 19. Countries: 9. Facts in the shared core: 5.

Publication timeline

2026-09-09 18:00 · El Mundo (outlet profile)
La nuez de betel, la primera droga usada por los humanos: la consumían en Indonesia hace 25.000 años. Dos esqueletos de cazadores-recolectores revelan que el uso de sustancias psicoactivas en las comunidades humanas es…
2026-09-09 18:00 · N+1 (outlet profile)
В Индонезии обнаружили древнейшего наркомана. Исследователи обнаружили древнейший пример того, что первобытные люди употребляли наркотические вещества. Следы употребления бетелевого ореха они выявили у охотника-собирате…
2026-09-09 18:00 · Phys.org (outlet profile)
Ice Age origins of one of humanity's oldest drug habits discovered. A team of Griffith University archaeologists has uncovered evidence that humans were using mind-altering substances much earlier than previously suppos…
2026-09-09 18:00 · The Guardian (outlet profile)
Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds. Analysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for hu…
2026-09-09 18:00 · Guardian Science (outlet profile)
Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds. Analysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for hu…
2026-09-09 18:00 · RTVI.com (outlet profile)
Ученые увидели, как выглядели древнейшие на Земле наркоманы. Ученые нашли древнейшие следы потребления человеком психоактивных веществ. Еще 25 тыс. лет назад жители острова Сулавеси в Индонезии жевали распространенный с…
2026-09-09 18:00 · elDiario.es (outlet profile)
Marcas en los dientes sitúan el primer consumo de drogas de la humanidad hace 25.000 años en Indonesia. Un equipo de investigadores ha hallado pruebas de la succión repetida de nueces de betel enteras en dos cazadores-r…
2026-09-09 18:00 · Le Nouvel Obs (outlet profile)
Il y a 25 000 ans, les humains consommaient déjà de la drogue, et on sait désormais laquelle. Le plus ancien usage de drogue remonterait à l’âge de glace, dans l’actuelle Indonésie, où des chasseurs-cueilleurs consommai…
2026-09-09 18:02 · Haaretz (outlet profile)
Earliest known drug use and its consequences discovered in Indonesia. Hunter-gatherers on one of the country's giant islands were sucking whole betel nuts as much as 25,000 years ago, a new study finds. It did bad things
2026-09-09 18:26 · The New York Times (outlet profile)
Scientists Discover the Earliest Evidence of Drug Use in Really Old Teeth. A hunter-gatherer who lived in Indonesia as early as 25,000 years ago may have regularly sucked on betel nuts to release their psychoactive prop…
2026-09-10 10:22 · franceinfo (outlet profile)
Des archéologues découvrent "la plus ancienne trace de consommation de plantes psychoactives" chez des humains, il y a près de 25 000 ans. Des squelettes de cueilleurs retrouvés en Indonésie présentaient des dents abîmé…
2026-09-10 15:33 · Futura Sciences (outlet profile)
On ne pensait pas l’usage des drogues aussi ancien : leurs dents « pourries » révèlent ce qu’ils consommaient il y a 25 000 ans. Et si nos ancêtres avaient recherché les effets des drogues bien avant l’apparition de l’a…
2026-09-10 15:47 · CNews (outlet profile)
Des dents vieilles de 25.000 ans attestent que nos ancêtres pouvaient se droguer régulièrement avec des noix. Sur l’île indonésienne de Sulawesi, des chercheurs ont retrouvé dans les dents de chasseurs-cueilleurs préhis…
2026-09-10 16:37 · Dnevnik (Novi Sad) (outlet profile)
ОТКРИВЕНИ ПРАНАРКОМАНИ Људи можда користили психоактивне супстанце још пре 25.000 година СИСАЛИ ОРАХЕ ДО ЕУФОРИЈЕ. Људи су можда користили психоактивне супстанце још пре 25.000 година, показало је ново истраживање научн…
2026-09-11 07:00 · O Globo (outlet profile)
Muito antes da cerveja: homens das cavernas podem ter sido os primeiros usuários de ‘drogas’ há 25 mil anos. Arqueólogos encontraram o que pode ser uma das evidências mais antigas do uso de substâncias psicoativas por s…
2026-09-11 07:00 · G1 (outlet profile)
Pesquisa descobre que seres humanos usam drogas há pelo menos 25 mil anos; saiba como isso começou. Esqueletos tinham vestígios de drogas psicoativas Pubu Alar_sulsel Seres humanos usam drogas psicoativas há milhares de…
2026-09-11 08:55 · Sciences et Avenir (outlet profile)
La noix de bétel, première drogue des chasseurs-cueilleurs. C'est la plus ancienne des drogues ! La « noix de bétel », l’une des substances psychoactives les plus consommées au monde, est connue depuis plus de…
2026-09-11 11:06 · Naked Science (outlet profile)
Люди начали употреблять психоактивные вещества на 12 тысяч лет раньше, чем считалось. Привычка рассасывать во рту бетельные орехи и связанные с этим негативные последствия для здоровья наблюдались у охотников-собирателе…
2026-09-11 11:40 · Die Welt (outlet profile)
Forscher entdecken das älteste Rauschmittel der Welt. Kaffee, Nikotin, Alkohol: Der Mensch berauscht sich seit Jahrtausenden. Lange galt Bier als älteste Droge der Welt. Nun haben Forscher einen Fund gemacht, der diese…

Factual core

Teeth from Sulawesi, Indonesia, dating back 25,000 years, show evidence of prehistoric hunter-gatherers regularly consuming betel nuts.
The finding relates to one of humanity's oldest drug habits.
The betel nut is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive substances in the world.
Archaeologists discovered evidence of drug use on an Indonesian island dating back 25,000 years.
Both individuals exhibited an unusual pattern of dental wear, with deep and rounded grooves, caused by habitual suction of whole betel nuts.

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