The 25,000-Year-Old Teeth That Just Rewrote The History Of Human Drug Use

The specific preservation of arecoline in dental tissue over 25,000 years is remarkable but not inexplicable.

The molecule’s incorporation into the mineral matrix of the tooth during habitual use, followed by the protection of that mineral matrix in the favorable preservation conditions of the South Sulawesi cave, is a plausible pathway for long-term survival.

The Previous Bronze Age Betel Record And Why It Fell So Far Behind

Before the Sulawesi study, the earliest solid chemical evidence for betel nut use came from Bronze Age contexts in Thailand, dated to roughly 3,000 to 3,500 years ago.

The study by the Sulawesi team pushes this back by more than 20,000 years, which raises an obvious question: why was the evidence for earlier use not found before?