Seeds and preserved hair in tomb point to oldest signs of cannabis high 2,800 years ago, study suggests

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   Cannabis intoxication traced to 2,800-year-old Siberian tomb

   Analysis of seeds and preserved human hair from a royal burial in Siberia indicates cannabis was consumed as an intoxicant around 2,800 years ago, according to a new study. Researchers found cannabinol (CBN), a degradation product of THC, in hair samples from the Arzhan-2 kurgan in Tuva, alongside carbonized cannabis seeds in a bronze brazier. The findings push back direct chemical evidence of psychoactive use by roughly a millennium and suggest ritual or elite consumption by Scythian-era nomads.

   Why it matters

   Previous archaeological evidence showed cannabis cultivation for fiber and seeds far earlier, but proof of intentional intoxication relied on ambiguous artifacts or later historical accounts. This study provides the first biomolecular confirmation that ancient people in Central Asia sought the plant's mind-altering effects. The Arzhan-2 tomb, dated to the 7th century BCE, belonged to high-status individuals, linking psychoactive use to elite funerary practices among early Iron Age pastoralists.

   What is confirmed

   • Cannabinol (CBN), a THC degradation marker, was identified in preserved human hair from the Arzhan-2 burial in Tuva, Siberia.
   • Carbonized cannabis seeds were recovered from a bronze brazier inside the same 2,800-year-old royal tomb.
   • The Arzhan-2 kurgan dates to the 7th century BCE and is associated with early Scythian-era nomadic elites.

   Still unconfirmed

   • The cannabis may have been burned in the brazier as part of a funerary ritual to induce trance states.
   • Scythian groups used cannabis intoxication systematically in burial ceremonies across the Eurasian steppe.

   What to watch next

   • Publication of the full peer-reviewed paper with methodological details and contamination controls
   • Independent replication of hair analysis from other Arzhan-2 individuals or contemporary sites
   • Discovery of similar CBN signatures in hair from earlier Central Asian burials
   Sources used for this update (11)

   1. CNN — Earliest evidence of cannabis use found in ancient Siberian tomb
   2. The New York Times — Were These Ancient Siberian Nomads the First Stoners?
   3. Phys.org — Cannabis was used as an intoxicant as early as 2,800 years ago
   4. Scientific American — Ancient humans were using cannabis far earlier in history than we thought
   5. Reuters — Siberian burial site reveals ancient use of cannabis as an intoxicant
   6. Popular Science — Oldest evidence of cannabis use discovered in 2,700-year-old royal tomb
   7. The Washington Post — The curious case of ancient cannabis use
   8. PBS — Seeds and preserved hair in tomb point to oldest signs of cannabis high 2,800 years ago, study suggests
   9. Newser — What Scientists Found When They Drug-Tested Ancient Hair
   10. LAist — Ancient humans got high
   11. www.macombdaily.com — Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, cut off his ankle monitor, DOJ says
   confidence 90%