The teeth analysis reveals traces of arecoline, the active compound in betel nuts, supporting habitual consumption for mind-altering effects among these foragers.

This discovery marks the oldest evidence of deliberate drug use in prehistory, with two Sulawesi hunter-gatherers sucking betel nuts at times spanning roughly 16,000–25,000 years ago and 6,300–7,600 years ago.

Today, betel nut is chewed as a quid after mixing with slaked lime and other ingredients, and it remains widely used in South and Southeast Asia by about one-tenth of the global population.

The Science Advances report notes the older individual lived between 25,000 and 16,000 years ago, while the younger ranged from 7,600 to 6,300 years ago.

Dating relied on luminescence and uranium-series methods due to the absence of preserved charcoal, underscoring dating challenges at the site.

The study, led by Prof. Adam Brumm of Griffith University and published in Science Advances, includes expert commentary on its significance for understanding ancient drug-use behaviors.

Archaeological evidence for early drug use is scarce, and this finding illuminates the origins of psychoactive substance use in humans.

Questions remain about why this behavior emerged and how it influenced later culture, with speculation on factors like pain relief, social roles, or ritual use, acknowledging the complexity of tracing origins.

A second set of worn teeth from another Sulawesi site dated to roughly 6,000–8,000 years ago indicates the practice persisted across individuals and time.

The broader significance includes revising when psychoactive substances entered human culture and how early forager traditions could have shaped later behavior.

While effects may have been milder than modern quid chewing, the habit could have health impacts such as dental and gum disease for ancient users.

The findings challenge the view that widespread drug use began only after farming and fermented alcohol, showing forager traditions included psychoactive use.