Tobacco seeds were discovered in an ancient hearth of hunter-gatherers in what is now Utah, indicating that humans have been using tobacco for over 2,000 years.
New research shows that humans have been using tobacco since the Stone Age.
The tobacco seeds found in an ancient hearth of hunter-gatherers in the area now known as the state of Utah, USA, suggest that humans have been using tobacco for more than 12,000 years.
Modern tobacco seeds. (Source: CNN)
This discovery predates previous records by 9,000 years, even before agriculture began in the Americas.
Daron Duke, head of the Western Anthropological Research Team and the lead author of the study, found a small black stain on the sediment of the Great Salt Lake desert.
Duke and his colleagues excavated the site, which was surrounded by stone and bone artifacts. The group’s botanist identified the seeds when they brought samples back to the laboratory.
Due to the small number of samples, it was not possible to determine their exact age. However, they indicate that Stone Age humans were using fire approximately 12,300 years ago.
There are also suspicions that the tobacco seeds may have been brought to the area by animals or that humans used tobacco plants to start fires for warmth.
However, Duke stated that both scenarios are unlikely. He explained that tobacco is highly toxic, so birds and animals do not consume it. Additionally, tobacco does not grow in wetland areas (as was the case in ancient Utah), making it more likely that it was transported from elsewhere.
This type of plant also lacks the woody tissue necessary to create a sustained fire, so it would not have been used as fuel for heating.
