Alte Zähne zeigen, dass Betelmuttern seit der Bronzezeit als Stimulanzien verwendet wurden Früherster direkter Beweis für die Verwendung von Betelmutter aus Bronzezeit: Biomolekulare Analyse des Zahnkalküls aus Nong Ratchawat, Thailand

Article highlights:

>Chewing betel nuts is a cultural practice in parts of Southeast Asia. When chewed, these reddish nuts, which are the fruit of the areca palm, release psychoactive compounds that heighten alertness and energy, promote feelings of euphoria, and help with relaxation. They are usually wrapped in betel leaves with lime paste made from powdered shells or corals, depending on the region.
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>Critically, the ancient teeth from betel nut chewers are distinguishable because of red staining. So when archaeologist Piyawit Moonkham, of Chiang Mai University in Thailand, unearthed 4,000-year-old skeletons from the Bronze Age burial site of Nong Ratchawat, the lack of telltale red stains appeared to indicate that the individuals they belonged to were not chewers of betel nuts.
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>Yet when he sampled plaque from the teeth, he found that several of the teeth from one individual contained compounds found in betel nuts. This invisible evidence could indicate teeth cleaning practices had gotten rid of the color or that there were alternate methods of consumption.
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>“We found that these mineralized plaque deposits preserve multiple microscopic and biomolecular indicators,” Moonkham said in a study recently published in Frontiers. “This initial research suggested the detection potential for other psychoactive plant compounds.”
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>…
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>For the new study, the researchers sampled plaque from six individuals with mostly unstained teeth. These included back teeth, such as molars and premolars, as well as more frontal incisors and canines. They then created different combinations of betel nuts, leaves, and lime paste, some including black catechu bark or tobacco to reflect local customs. Each was then ground with a mortar and pestle with some human saliva added to simulate the chewed end product.
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>After betel nuts were artificially “chewed,” chemicals were extracted from the mixture. The betel leaves and lime paste chewed with betel nuts have a purpose: Psychoactive compounds in betel nuts become more potent when lime paste creates an alkaline environment in the mouth. And it is thought that betel leaf helps with the absorption of these compounds.
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>Moonkham compared chemical signatures in the reference samples to those in archaeological samples of plaque. Because chewing tobacco with betel nuts is more of a modern practice, its absence from the archaeological samples was expected. Traces of arecoline, a stimulant exclusively found in betel nuts, were present in all the reference samples and in three archaeological samples that came from the unstained teeth of a woman. Though the evidence of arecoline in the ancient samples was fragmented by degradation over time, its chemical formula and molecular weight were enough to identify it.
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>In the teeth of the same woman, the researchers discovered signals from another psychoactive compound, arecaidine, which arecoline is converted into with the addition of lime. This woman’s teeth suggest that she was the only individual studied who had chewed betel nuts.
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>Why there was only one individual who showed evidence of betel nut chewing is still a mystery. She stands out further because she was also buried with distinctive clay vessels and stone beads, something rare at Nong Ratchawat. It is unknown whether these have any relation to social status. If anything, it goes against the previously discovered trend of stained teeth being found in more male than female burials.

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Journal link: [Earliest direct evidence of bronze age betel nut use: biomolecular analysis of dental calculus from Nong Ratchawat, Thailand](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-archaeology/articles/10.3389/fearc.2025.1622935/full)

Abstract:

>**Introduction:** The social and temporal dimensions of psychoactive plant use in prehistoric Southeast Asia remain elusive.
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>**Method:** Here, we employ novel biomolecular methods to provide direct evidence of betel nut chewing in ancient dental calculus from Nong Ratchawat, Central Thailand. Method validation confirmed reliable detection of key compounds through LC-MS analysis of experimental control samples.
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>**Result:** Subsequent analysis of 36 archaeological samples from six ~4,000-year-old burials revealed diagnostic arecoline derivatives in a single female burial, representing the earliest such evidence in Southeast Asia.
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>**Discussion:** This identification, despite the lack of traditional archaeological indicators, demonstrates the power of dental calculus analysis to illuminate prehistoric psychoactive substance use. This study establishes the antiquity of betel nut consumption in mid-Holocene Thailand and provides new methodological avenues for future research in Southeast Asia.

I’m sure they’ve been used a lot longer than that. If there are animals and psychoactive foods, they will find it and eat it

Yuck. Bronze age red spit is as gross as present day red spit. Gross gross gross.

explains why archaeologists keep finding this stuff stimulants always survive in culture way longer than we expect.

Civilizations rise and fall, but the human commitment to getting a little high? Eternal.