Cannabis was used as an intoxicant as early as 2,800 years ago

 

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used psychoactive plants today. However, it is difficult to determine archaeologically how cannabis was used in prehistoric times. Plant parts such as flowers, leaves and resins are perishable and therefore rarely survive. It is known that cannabis served various purposes, such as the production of oil or fiber, and was not used solely as medicine or a drug.

An international research team led by Dr. Gino Caspari of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology has now combined various analytical methods in its investigation of a princely tomb in the South Siberian Republic of Tyva. The tomb belongs to high-ranking members of Scythian society, a horse-riding culture of the Eurasian steppe. A total of about 1,000 cannabis seeds were recovered from it. Six seeds were directly dated using the radiocarbon method. Together with other dating results,this indicates that the seeds were placed in the grave in the early eighth century B.C. “The seeds show that cannabis played an important role in the rituals surrounding the burial,” says Caspari, an archaeologist and the study’s lead author. The research team also examined preserved human hair from the central burial chamber. The analyses point to cannabis use. “This study is particularly insightful because it combines the analysis of plant remains with molecular traces in the human body,” says Caspari. The study has now been published in the journal Science.

Molecular traces in human hair

The seeds recovered from the grave likely stem from wild plants. It is not possible to determine from this whether they were specifically cultivated for their psychoactive properties. Their presence in a grave does not, in and of itself, prove the psychoactive use of cannabis. This became apparent only through the analysis of the hair: In several of the hair samples examined, the researchers found clear signals consistent with cannabinol (CBN). CBN is produced, among other things, by the oxidation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the most important intoxicating compound in cannabis. In addition, the team detected weak signals that, based on their mass, are consistent with THC. High-resolution mass spectrometry, among other methods, was used to analyze the hair samples.

According to the researchers, the hair analyses indicate cannabis use. However, they do not allow for a reliable determination of the amount consumed. Neither is it possible to determine with certainty how the active compounds entered the body—for example, through inhalation or ingestion. The analyses therefore do not confirm a specific method of consumption. Later archaeological sites in Central Asia have revealed chemical residues of cannabinoids in vessels and on heated stones, clearly indicating inhalation.

“The molecular traces in the hair and the cannabis seeds come from the same grave and suggest that cannabis was used for its intoxicating properties,” says Caspari, who conducts research at the Institute of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena (Germany).

Cannabis in a ritual burial context

The research team situates the cannabis finds in a ritual burial context. “In this princely tomb, the burials were accompanied by extensive horse sacrifices and, most likely, human sacrifices as well,” says Gino Caspari. In a previous publication, the research team had discovered the remains of 18 horses that had once been arranged on the burial mound. In the meantime, several dozen additional horse sacrifices and scattered human bones have come to light.

Further investigation into the early use of cannabis

The findings provide what is currently the oldest directly dated archaeological evidence of the use of cannabis for its intoxicating properties. However, they do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the THC content of the plants from that time. Neither has it been possible so far to determine whether the plants were specifically selected or cultivated for higher levels of active compounds.

The research team is currently continuing the investigation. “We have already begun sequencing some of the plant samples,” says Gino Caspari. “DNA preservation is excellent in this case. This will help us learn more about the history of the domestication and spread of this crop soon.”

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.aeg3800 

Heels and flat feet, from Neanderthals to Homo sapien

In all likelihood, the Neanderthals had flat feet. But it was not a defect at all. Instead, it was the consequence of a precise functional strategy to reduce impact stress under heavy loads and maximize stability on mountainous or rough terrain.

This is just one of the news items that emerged from a study – published in the Journal of Human Evolution – that analysed for the first time the three-dimensional external shape of the entire heel of Neanderthals, comparing it with that of our species, Homo sapiens.

"The human foot is one of the anatomical structures that best demonstrate our complex evolutionary history, and among the bones it is composed of, the heel plays a crucial role: it is the first structure to touch the ground when walking, cushioning the impact and transmitting the forces to push us forward," explains Maria Giovanna Belcastro, professor at the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences of the University of Bologna, who coordinated the study. "The 3D analysis of the fossil heels of our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals, has therefore allowed us to highlight both an extraordinary biomechanical adaptation to withstand heavy loads and rough terrains, and the impact of modern life and footwear on our feet."

The researchers have analysed and compared the heels of 7 individuals of the Homo neanderthalensis species with those of 64 individuals of Homo sapiens, ranging from hunter-gatherers of the Pleistocene to farmers of the Iron Age, up to a post-industrial urban population preserved in the Documented Human Osteological Collection of the Certosa Cemetery of Bologna. To do this, they applied advanced 3D geometric morphometry techniques to digital models obtained with laser scans and computed tomography.

The results show clear and fascinating differences. First, compared to the heels of modern humans, those of Neanderthals were shorter, wider and taller. But one of the most surprising aspects concerns the posture and stability of the Neanderthal foot. Geometric analysis indicates that Neanderthals’ foot posture habitually showed pronation. In addition, the study highlights a lower lateral longitudinal arch in Neanderthals, which offered greater flexibility and mobility in the central part of the foot. In short, Neanderthals had a flat foot and used this posture to maximize stability and reduce impact stress under heavy loads.

"The robustness of the heel reflects the overall body structure of Neanderthals, which is characterized by a remarkable muscular and bone mass and an extremely intense level of physical activity," confirms Belcastro. "These physical characteristics indicate an adaptation aimed at promoting a greater load-bearing capacity on the back of the foot and a high mobility on uneven ground."

Looking instead at our species, the researchers observed that the prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Homo sapiens - who travelled long distances barefoot or with soft footwear - showed heels with characteristics of robustness more similar to those of Neanderthals than modern post-industrial populations.

The individuals who have lived in the last centuries have heels that are much weaker, due to a sedentary lifestyle and the habitual use of rigid and closed footwear. This is because the use of shoes with rigid soles tends to limit the inversion and eversion movements of the foot, tightening the ankle: a clear sign of skeletal gracilization due to a drastic reduction in natural biomechanical stimuli.

"The morphology of our skeleton is not only the product of a strict genetic program, but also the consequence of physical stimuli and our daily life habits", explains Belcastro. "The results of this study therefore offer a fundamental contribution to better understand how our ancestors moved in their natural environment and open fascinating prospects for dialogue between evolutionary anthropology and clinical orthopaedics."

The study was published in the Journal of Human Evolution with the title “Neanderthal’s heel: How the Neanderthal’s external calcaneal shape uniquely differs from that of modern humans.” The research was led by Rita Sorrentino (currently a professor at the University of Palermo but active at the University of Bologna from 2015 to 2026) and coordinated by Professor Maria Giovanna Belcastro (Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences of the University of Bologna), together with a multidisciplinary team that includes other scholars of the University of Bologna (Professor Stefano Benazzi, Carla Figus and Teresa Nicolosi from the Department of Cultural Heritage, professors Michele Conconi and Nicola Sancisi from the Department of Industrial Engineering), and of the IRCCS Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute (Claudio Belvedere and Alberto Leardini from the laboratory of motion analysis and functional evaluation of prostheses).

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Journal

Journal of Human Evolution

DOI

10.1016/j.jhevol.2026.103887 

Ancient DNA reveals where English, German and Scandinavian languages came from

 

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen trace the origins of Germanic languages back 4,000 years and reshape our understanding of Viking ancestry. A companion study also sheds new light on where Celtic la

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Copenhagen

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Rock art in the King’s Grave at Kivik (Kiviksgraven) in southern Sweden, an exceptionally large Bronze Age burial monument dating to c. 1500 BCE, coinciding with the expansion of East Scandinavian Bronze Age ancestry. From left: Hugh McColl, lead author; Eske Willerslev, senior author.

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Credit: Nicolas Delgado Clausen

English, German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages are all members of the Germanic language group, spoken by hundreds of millions of people today. But where did these languages come from?

According to two new studies published in Nature, part of the answer may lie in the DNA of thousands of ancient Europeans.

An international team led by the University of Copenhagen and Leiden University analysed DNA from more than 4,500 ancient individuals, including 712 genomes sequenced for the first time. By combining genetics, archaeology and linguistics, the researchers reconstructed major migrations that helped shape the languages spoken across Europe today.

“DNA sequences do not tell us directly which language people spoke. But by combining ancient DNA with linguistic and archaeological evidence, we can begin to trace how languages spread and changed over thousands of years,” says Eske Willerslev, senior author of the studies and Professor at Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

A previously unknown migration

The researchers identified a previously unknown major migration into Scandinavia around 4,000 years ago.

The newcomers likely arrived from areas around the Baltic Sea and spread rapidly across Scandinavia. Their arrival had a lasting impact on Northern European populations, leading researchers to suggest that they may have carried the earliest ancestor of today's Germanic languages.

This challenges the long-held assumption that the roots of Germanic languages arrived with earlier migrations about 5,000 years ago. Instead, the findings suggest that the linguistic foundations of English, German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages may have spread a thousand years later than previously thought.

“For over a century, scholars have debated when and from where the Germanic languages arrived in Northern Europe. What is exciting is that we can now test some of these ideas directly. We discovered a previously unknown migration that occurred at exactly the time and place where we would expect the earliest form of Germanic to be spreading,” says Hugh McColl, Assistant Professor at Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen and lead author of the study.

New clues to Viking origins

The studies also uncovered an unexpected chapter of Scandinavian history. Around 1,500 years ago, several centuries before the Viking Age, people from what is now northern Germany migrated into Denmark and southern Sweden. In some regions, particularly Zealand, they became a major part of the local population.

The migration coincides with the emergence of Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings. The findings suggest that many Danish and Swedish Vikings traced much of their ancestry to these newcomers, who were closely related to groups that also contributed to the Anglo-Saxons in Britain.

The discovery may help explain longstanding similarities between Viking and Anglo-Saxon cultures, including shared artistic traditions and closely related languages.

“This migration came as a real surprise. Archaeologists and linguists had not predicted it, but it helps explain several cultural and linguistic connections between Scandinavia and Britain that have puzzled researchers for a long time,” says Hugh McColl.

Revisiting the origins of Celtic languages

A companion study used the same approach to tackle another longstanding debate: the origins of the Celtic languages.

Today, Celtic languages survive mainly in places such as Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Brittany. But 2,500 years ago, Celtic languages were spoken across much of Europe. Scholars have debated for more than a century whether they originated along Europe's Atlantic coast or farther east in central Europe.

The ancient DNA points to a movement of people from central Europe around 3,000 years ago, that spread westwards into France, Britain, Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula. According to the researchers, this provides the simplest explanation for the spread of Celtic languages. It also challenges one of the most influential theories, which proposes that Celtic languages originated along the Atlantic coast.

“The question of where Celtic languages came from has been debated for more than 100 years. Ancient DNA gives us an entirely new way to evaluate competing theories and brings important new evidence into the discussion,” says Guus Kroonen, Associate Professor of comparative linguistics at Leiden University and the University of Copenhagen.

Bringing genetics, language and history together

The researchers emphasize that DNA alone cannot reveal which language ancient people spoke. Instead, the studies combine genetic evidence with decades of linguistic and archaeological research.

By tracing when and where people moved, the team was able to test long-standing hypotheses about how languages spread across Europe and provide a more detailed picture of the continent's past than ever before.

“These studies show what becomes possible when genetics, archaeology and linguistics are brought together. Questions that have remained unresolved for generations can now be addressed with a level of evidence that was previously impossible,” says Kristian Kristiansen, Professor of Archaeology at University of Gothenburg.

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-025-09064-1 

A 7,000-year-old piece of leather reveals a deep history of Spanish goats

 

Ancient DNA supports a deep history of Iberian domestic goats

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

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Approximately 7,000-year-old tanned goat leather preserved in Cueva de los Murciélagos, Albuñol (Granada, Spain), from which ancient DNA was recovered for this study.

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Credit: MUTERMUR Project, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Ancient DNA reveals that denizens of the Iberian Peninsula made leather from domestic goats as far back as 7,000 years ago, according to a study published November 4, 2026, in the open access journal PLOS One by Jolijn A. M. Erven of University College Dublin, Ireland and colleagues.

Research into the history of ancient livestock use and trade is helped immensely by ancient genetic data. Unfortunately, well-preserved ancient DNA is generally limited to cold and dry habitats, with much fewer examples from warm regions. In this study, Erven and colleagues report a rare well-preserved genetic sample from a fragment of goat leather found at the burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Spain.

This leather was likely part of a garment or protective covering and shows evidence of having been tanned and perforated before being interred alongside human remains. Radiocarbon dating of the specimen recovered an age of around 7,000 years old, during the Early Neolithic period. Researchers were able to recover both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from the specimen. The genetic material is extensively fragmented, but intact enough to be identified as domestic goat with a close relation to the modern-day Bermeya breed from northern Spain. This indicates that Neolithic people already used domestic goats rather than wild Iberian ibex, and it also demonstrates a continuous goat lineage in Spain going back several thousand years.

Of note is that this analysis recovered no African genetic heritage in the sample, contrasting with modern European goats. This might indicate that Iberian-African cultural connections weren’t established until after the Neolithic period, but the authors caution that the genetic sample is incomplete. With the recovery of well-preserved Iberian ancient DNA, the possibility exists that further samples might provide more details into the deep history of European livestock.

Francisco Martínez-Sevilla adds: “The preservation of this 7,000-year-old goat leather is exceptional. Cueva de los Murciélagos has preserved organic materials that rarely survive in the archaeological record, offering us a unique opportunity to investigate prehistoric technologies, animal husbandry, and the relationships between human communities and domestic animals.” 

Kevin Daly adds: “It is rare to for such ancient, organic materials to retain DNA - but this was one of the few exceptions. With a tiny amount of surviving DNA, we were able to show a link with Iberian breeds today - a genetic connection spanning 7,000 years. This study demonstrates what can done through the collaboration of international multidisciplinary teams - transforming an archaeological object into a link with the living present.”

 

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/4BmWRQO

Citation: Erven JAM, Guyet ZR, L’Hôte L, Mattiangeli V, Fernández-Domínguez E, Laidlaw G, et al. (2026) Genetic analysis of 7,000 year old preserved goat leather from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain). PLoS One 21(11): e0358468. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358468

Mayans’ enthusiastic use of mercury helped the toxin infiltrate the Yucatán environment

The use of mercury by the ancient Maya for ceremonies, religious events, and decoration spread the pollutant even further throughout the region than previously known, new research finds. A new study has identified extremely high levels of mercury dated to the Classic Period (250-920 CE) in lake cores from the Yucatán lowlands – a region where contamination had not yet been documented.

 The ancient Maya used mercury in the form of the red mineral cinnabar as paint. While studies have largely focused on environmental mercury toxicity in communities in the southern highlands and south-central lowlands, Matthew Neal Waters and colleagues have now found that mercury also infiltrated the Yucatán Peninsula during the Classic Period. They examined sediment cores from Lago Cobá and Cenote Xcach, and determined that levels of mercury surpassed modern safety thresholds by orders of magnitude for centuries. The cores also contained proof of aquatic food web collapse across trophic levels linked to times of heightened mercury. 

“Whereas climate-associated reductions in water quantity are well established as a regional stressor for the ancient Maya, our results suggest that declining water quality driven by [mercury] contamination constituted an additional and previously underappreciated environmental stressor,” Waters et al. write.

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.aeh3280

A glowing clue to how ancient cave artworks survived

 

A new UV light-based technique reveals hidden mineral deposits that may have helped preserve 37,000-year-old drawings

Peer-Reviewed Publication

American Chemical Society

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New analysis reveals that these cave drawings are partially covered by calcite mineral, which has kept them safe for tens of thousands of years.

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Credit: Adapted from ACS Omega 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.6c05061

Tucked away inside a limestone cave in southeastern France lies some of the oldest artwork in existence. Known as Chauvet Cave, the site is so historically important — and fragile — that its location is kept secret and locked behind a huge steel door. And now, researchers reporting in ACS Omega have devised a technique to safely investigate these artworks and understand the natural varnish that has protected them for centuries. 

“We examine every piece of evidence to decode the techniques of prehistoric artists and understand how the paintings have been preserved over time.” — Philippe Walter

Somewhere around 37,000 years ago, a group of Paleolithic people entered what is now Chauvet Cave and left behind detailed artwork of local fauna, including cave bears, cave lions, bison, and horses. The drawings were sealed off by an ancient rockfall and left undiscovered until the 1990s. Several decades later, a lot can still be learned from these ancient works of art, including how the cave’s geology may have contributed to the artworks’ preservation. To study cave walls without damaging them, researchers have used UV fluorescence spectroscopy, which reveals fluorescent mineral deposits invisible to the naked eye. Philippe Walter and colleagues wanted to use the technique to noninvasively investigate these ancient drawings. Their focus was on mineral deposits that have formed atop the charcoal-based drawings and the techniques used to create the art. 

Due to the fragility of prehistoric footprints in front of the artwork, the researchers set up a portable spectrometer on a protective walkway around 8 feet (2.5 meters) away from the cave wall. A beam of UV light was shone on the wall, and the resulting fluorescence from the mineral deposits and pigments in the artworks was analyzed by the spectrometer. 

“Our methodology is much like forensic investigation: We examine every piece of evidence to decode the techniques of prehistoric artists and understand how the paintings have been preserved over time,” says Walter. 

The researchers’ analysis revealed that: 

• Mineral-carrying water flowed over the wall’s limestone surface, leaving behind thin layers of calcite. That calcite glowed blue under a blacklight, revealing a natural varnish covering parts of the artwork.
• Some areas displayed an orange fluorescence, which could be from hot charcoals or burning materials, like a lit torch, being rubbed against the wall to create the drawings.

These results showcase the careful interaction between humans and geology that allowed these artworks to be preserved for tens of thousands of years. Walter and team anticipate that the technique also has applications from forensic science to monitoring biofilms onboard the International Space Station — a project already underway. 

Ancient Ecuadorian genomes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PNAS Nexus

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Skeletal elements from an infant buried in Salango, Ecuador. (A) Showing lesions (red); grey bones were not recovered. (B) Petrous portion with lytic lesions and new bone formation. (C) Left clavicle and (D) right humerus with new bone plaques. (E) Ribs with lytic lesions and (F) right ilium with a large lytic defect.

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Credit: Lindo et al.

Ancient genomes from coastal Ecuador reveal 1,500 years of genetic continuity in an understudied part of the ancient world. John Lindo and colleagues sequenced four genomes from individuals excavated at Salango on Ecuador’s central coast, from around 2,300 years ago, 1,900 years ago, and 740 years ago. The four genomes cluster with ancient and present-day populations from Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, consistent with shared ancestry within a northwestern South American genetic continuum. The Salango population likely diverged from other Southern Native Americans around 9,800 years ago. All four individuals showed genetic similarities, suggesting population continuity at Salango despite major cultural and environmental changes, including the aftermath of the Pululahua volcanic eruption around 2,360 years ago, the rise of chiefdoms, and the development of maritime and overland trade. In addition, one individual, an infant, exhibited skeletal lesions consistent with tuberculosis. The researchers recovered DNA from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and reconstructed a pathogen genome, providing rare genetic evidence of tuberculosis in the pre-contact Americas. According to the authors, the study opens new opportunities to trace both population history and infectious disease along South America’s Pacific coast.

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Journal

PNAS Nexus

Article Title

Ancient Ecuadorian genomes reveal millennia of genetic continuity on the Pacific Coast of South America