Earliest known signs of cannabis smoking unearthed in China

Earliest known signs of cannabis smoking unearthed in China
Incense burners found at 2,500-year-old cemetery suggest intentional use of to get high

Ian Sample Science editor
@iansample
Wed 12 Jun 2019 14.00 EDT Last modified on Wed 12 Jun 2019 16.03 EDT

Scorched wooden incense burners unearthed at an ancient burial ground in the mountains of western China contain the oldest clear evidence of cannabis smoking yet found, archaeologists say.

Residues of high potency cannabis found in the burners, and on charred pebbles placed inside them, suggest that funeral rites at the 2,500-year-old Jirzankal cemetery in the Pamir mountains may have been rather hazy affairs.

Scientists believe the stones were heated in a fire before being transferred to the wooden braziers and covered with cannabis, which duly billowed psychoactive smoke. With music as an accompaniment, the heady fumes may have prompted those present to attempt to commune with nature, spirits or the dead.

Researchers have found remnants of cannabis at ancient sites in Central Asia before, but the latest discovery points to the intentional use of plants with high levels of the active compound, THC, and to cannabis being inhaled rather than ingested.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/12/earliest-known-signs-of-cannabis-smoking-unearthed-in-china