Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century, encountering the quid preparation in South and Southeast Asia, coined the term “betel” for the leaf, and the name stuck to the practice and, eventually, to the nut as well.

So the phrase “betel nut” is, technically, a double misnomer: the “betel” comes from the leaf wrapping (not the nut itself), and the “nut” is actually a seed (not a botanical nut).

The more precise term used in the scientific literature is “areca nut” or “areca seed.”

Why does this matter for the Sulawesi discovery?

It matters because the ancient foragers were using only the areca seed — the hard, round seed of the areca palm.

They were not using the betel vine leaf, and they were not using the slaked lime.