While the world is still discussing the medicinal uses of Cannabis sativa, archaeologists have discovered that ancient Chinese people smoked marijuana in the mountainous region of Central Asia about 2,500 years ago, according to a study published in the scientific journal Science Advances.
Scientists recall that Cannabis, also known as hemp, evolved about 28 million years ago in the eastern Tibetan plateau. A close relative of the common hop found in beer, the plant still grows in the wild throughout Central Asia. More than 4,000 years ago, Chinese farmers began growing it for oil and fiber to make rope, clothing and paper, explains the science website Science.org.
+ Canadian cannabis stores demand immunization and vaccination increases
Archaeologists already assume that there was ritual burning of marijuana in Central Asian sites 5,000 years ago. But the 2019 findings suggest that early Cannabis strains had low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s most powerful psychoactive component, and therefore lacked hallucinogenic properties.
The remains of the plant burned 2,500 years ago were found in the Jirzankal Cemetery, 3,000 m high in the Pamir Mountains in the far west of China. In addition to marijuana, skeletons, wooden boards, Chinese bowls and harps were discovered, as well as braziers that contained charred material. All are typical of the Sogdians, a people of western China and Tajikistan who generally followed the Persian faith of Zoroastrianism, reports the specialized website.
At Jirzankal, West Asian glass beads and Chinese silk confirm the long-distance trade for which the Sogdians became famous, and isotopic analysis of 34 skeletons showed that nearly a third were migrants. Radiocarbon analysis put the burials at about 500 BC, according to Science.org.
Wooden braziers were concentrated in the most elite tombs. The researchers analyzed the material and found exceptionally high levels of THC compared to typical wild cannabis, albeit much less than in today’s plants. The marijuana was apparently burned indoors, so practitioners certainly inhaled THC smoke, the authors say, making this the first solid evidence of cannabis use as a hallucinogen.
According to the specialized website, the use of marijuana was restricted to the elites until it began to spread through Central Asia along the Silk Road, linking China to Iran. In 440 BC, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the nomadic Scythians, who they controlled vast areas from Siberia to Eastern Europe, they had tents and heated rocks to inhale hemp fumes that made them “scream for joy”.
know more
+ SP: Man dies standing, leaning against car, and scene scares residents on the coast
+ One twin became vegan, the other ate meat. Check the result
+ Reincarnation in history: an age-old belief
+ Andressa Urach asks for money on the internet: ‘Help me pay my card bill’
+ Horoscope: check today’s forecast for your sign
+ CNH: see what you need to know for the application and renewal
+ See which were the most stolen cars in SP in 2021
+ Expedition identifies giant squid responsible for ship sinking in 2011
+ Everything you need to know before buying a crockpot
+ US Agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
+ What is known about fluorone?
+ Trick to squeeze lemons becomes a craze on social media
+ IPVA 2022 SP: see how to consult and pay the tax
#Chinese #smoked #marijuana #years #study #finds