In short:
Archaeologists have found evidence of a person who used a psychoactive drug up to 25,000 years ago.
Tooth fossils in Indonesia suggest that ancient foragers in the region were sucking on betel nut, possibly as a painkiller.
What’s next?
Human drug use is probably older than this sample, but evidence is harder to come by.


I giggled.
“Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds”
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/09/indonesian-foragers-mind-altering-nuts-research-finds