Ancient Siberian Hair Yields Earliest Direct Evidence of Psychoactive Cannabis Use
Cannabinoids, including weaker signals consistent with THC, detected in 2,800-year-old hair from a Scythian royal tomb, suggesting cannabis was used for its intoxicating effects
Archaeologists have uncovered the oldest direct evidence of psychoactive cannabis use, detecting cannabinoids, including weaker signals consistent with THC, in preserved human hair from a 2,800-year-old Scythian burial mound in Siberia. The findings, published in Science, provide early direct evidence that people at the site were exposed to cannabis with mind-altering properties.