The relief of withdrawal symptoms is one of the most powerful drivers of continued substance use in modern addictions.

The analgesic effect of arecoline on the tooth pain the habit itself had produced may have been the prehistoric equivalent.

The study is careful to acknowledge the limits of this interpretation.

The archaeological evidence does not prove addiction in the clinical sense.

It demonstrates persistent behavior despite physical harm, and it identifies a pharmacological mechanism by which that persistence could be reinforced.

Whether the foragers themselves would have recognized or described their behavior in terms that map onto modern addiction concepts is unknowable.