The specific form has changed — the quid with lime and betel vine leaf is different from the whole-nut sucking of the Pleistocene foragers.

But the essential relationship between Homo sapiens and Areca catechu — the chemical conversation between human brain receptors and plant-produced alkaloids — is ancient.

The Paper’s Title And What It Claims

The title of the study published in Science Advances is worth reading carefully: “Betel nut sucking is the earliest recorded evidence for the habitual use of a neuroactive plant drug.”

Every word in this title is chosen carefully:

“Betel nut sucking” — not chewing, not processing, sucking.