Archaeologists found the world's oldest evidence of habitual drug use in the teeth of a hunter-gatherer who lived up to 25,000 years ago, who may have regularly sucked on mind-altering betel nuts.
Notes on verification
Peer-reviewed study in Science Advances corroborated by multiple independent outlets (ABC News, Live Science, CNN, ScienceDaily) and independent expert commentary from archaeologists not involved in the research.
Sources
- Smart News: Science News - Smithsonian Magazine (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-09-10/earliest-evidence-of-human-drug-use-discovered-in-indonesia/107130656 (abc.net.au)
- https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/12/science/betel-nut-prehistoric-use (edition.cnn.com)
- https://news.griffith.edu.au/2026/09/10/ice-age-origins-of-one-of-humanitys-oldest-drug-habits/ (news.griffith.edu.au)