Ancient teeth reveal early betel nut use
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Archaeologists in Indonesia discovered ancient human remains with unusual grooves in their teeth, prompting a search for the cause.
Adam Brumm of Griffith University in Australia and colleagues examined teeth from hunter-gatherers who lived as far back as 25,000 years ago and found similar wear patterns on a second set of remains dating to 8,000 years ago.
After ruling out other possibilities, the researchers theorize the grooves resulted from repeatedly sucking on betel nuts, the seeds of palm trees, possibly for their painkilling effects. The team tested this idea by extracting chemicals from betel nuts with artificial saliva and exposing them to human brain receptors, confirming that the nuts contain arecoline, a substance that affects brain function. They also found traces of arecoline within the ancient dental tissues, supporting the link to betel nut use.
Brumm himself experimented with sucking on betel nuts, noting the bitter taste and numbing sensation, which he believes ancient people sought for pain relief. Other researchers find the evidence convincing, though they caution against assuming motivations from a modern perspective. Agustín Fuentes of Princeton University notes that social and cultural factors might also have played a role in the practice, as people today engage in behaviors that damage teeth for reasons beyond immediate physical need.
The study suggests that humans have a long history of experimenting with mind-altering substances, joining tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine as commonly used examples.
