Archaeologists studying an 8th-century BCE burial mound in Siberia's "Valley of the Kings" have uncovered chemical traces of cannabis in ancient human hair samples. Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and their colleagues analyzed findings from the Tunnug 1 site, discovering an average cannabinol content of 560 parts per billion in braided hair samples recovered from the excavation.
The discovery sheds light on how ancient equestrian nomads interacted with psychoactive plants. While scholars generally believe domesticated cannabis first emerged roughly 6,000 years ago in East Asia for seed oil, these findings point to its early ritualized use during funerary rites on the Eurasian steppe. Mass spectrometry tests confirmed the presence of the drug, pushing back concrete chemical evidence of early human consumption.
Excavations at the burial mound yielded a significant volume of botanical material alongside human remains. The team handpicked hundreds of whole cannabis seeds at the burial site, supplemented by thousands more recovered through flotation samples of dirt. Radiocarbon dating of seeds from the log coffins of individuals labeled skeleton 139 and skeleton 135 narrowed the timeframe to the first decade of the eighth century BCE.
Surrounding these central skeletons, researchers also mapped clusters of horse bones indicative of sacrificial offerings tied to the burial complex. Scientists note that these artifacts and chemical traces highlight complex cultural connections across early Inner Asia, demonstrating how ancient populations experimented with the botanical world during major ceremonial events.
Siberian Nomads Used Cannabis 2800 Years Ago, Archaeology Reveals
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