They were not making anything that could be called a “betel quid” in the traditional sense.

What they were doing was sucking on areca seeds.

The Sulawesi study is therefore, more precisely, about the oldest known use of areca nuts (areca seeds).

The connection to the modern “betel nut” practice is real but partial: both involve the areca seed and its arecoline content, but the modern practice adds components that were absent in the ancient one.

This distinction is important for public health communication as much as for archaeological accuracy.