Australian scientists found traces of areca nut use in Indonesia 25 thousand years ago

Scientists from Australia-based Griffith University found traces of 'areca nut', a type of nut with stimulant and psychoactive properties, in the skeletal remains of some early hunter-gatherers in Indonesia.

Researchers who conducted biomolecular analysis on two human teeth belonging to these communities determined that one of the skeletal remains dates back to approximately 25 thousand to 16 thousand years ago, and the other to 7 thousand 600 to 6 thousand 300 years ago.

The researchers detected deep and round grooves in both tooth samples and determined that these abrasions were caused by the absorption of areca nut in the mouth.

Adam Brumm, one of the researchers, said in a statement to the BBC that this finding "may be the oldest evidence of drug use worldwide."

Stating that this nut is not well known in Western societies, Brumm noted that areca nut is the fourth most widely used 'psychoactive substance' in the world after alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.

Details of the research were published in the journal 'Science Advances'.