New Evidence Reveals Humans Chewed Or Smoked Tobacco Even Over 12,000 Years Ago

Study conducted by archaeologists from the Far Western Anthropological Research Group in Davis, California, has found the oldest direct evidence of tobacco use

Representational image of a man rolling tobacco | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: Tobacco was used by hunter-gatherers in North America much earlier than what was previously documented, a new study has found.

The practice of tobacco smoking is believed to have begun in 5000 BC with the development of maize-based agriculture in Central Mexico. However, the new study suggests that the use of tobacco began 12,300 — 9,000 years earlier than 5000 BC. 

The study conducted by archaeologists from the Far Western Anthropological Research Group in Davis, California, was recently published in Natural Human Behaviour journal.

It is believed a contract between European explorers and indigenous people in North America led to the spread of tobacco use worldwide in the early fifteenth century. The first instance of tobacco plants (Nicotiana spp.) being domesticated has been a subject of debate among researchers. 

Where is the new evidence?

The evidence was discovered at a hunter-gatherer camp in Utah's West Desert. The researchers, including Daron Duke, claim this to be the oldest direct evidence of tobacco use. 

Centuries back, a prehistoric river called the Old River used to flow alongside the camp, where hunter-gatherers settled 13,000 to 9,500 years back. 

Now, it has turned into a dry channel. The team of researchers excavated this site and found an ancient hearth consisting of four burnt tobacco-plant seeds. 

How was the age of the tobacco seeds determined?

It was difficult to determine the age of the tobacco seeds using radiocarbon dating, as they were very small and fragile. Therefore, the researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the burnt woody material in the hearth, and found that it was 12,300 years old. They presumed the charred tobacco seeds to be of a similar age. 

Since bare tobacco seeds were found without the leaves and stems of the tobacco plant, the scientists deduced that the parts with the intoxicant effect had been consumed. The team also assumed that during harvest, the seeds may have been picked up as they are small, and could have got stuck in the sticky hairs of the plant. 

Other artefacts found in the hearth

Certain artefacts were found in and around the hearth, such as duck bones, and fragments of a haskett, which is a spear tip used by nomadic hunter-gatherers in North America during the Pleistocene epoch. 

Since waterfowl bones were found at the archaeological site, the researchers believe that the haskett could have been used to hunt duck species. 

Charred seeds from plants traditionally eaten by Native American communities were also uncovered. These include, goosefoot (Chenopodium spp.), red maids (Calandrina spp.), and hairgrass (Deschampsia spp.). 

The researchers state that it was unlikely for the tobacco seeds to have been deposited naturally into the hearth. The team also investigated the possibility of the seeds having come from the hunted ducks' stomachs, or from plants in the nearby area. Duke said the reason why the birds consumed something as toxic and non-palatable as tobacco was that the ducks had moved away from their natural habitat, according to a Nature article. 

He added that their team found only common wetland plants in the area, after examining the sediments, and not tobacco. 

Jaime Kennedy, an archaeologist at the University of Oregon in Eugene, said the discovery is important because it highlights the ancient symbiotic relationship between people and plants, the article says.