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Earliest known signs of cannabis smoking unearthed in China
- malvosenior 7y ago> Residues of high potency cannabis found in the burners I wonder what they mean by high potency. I was under the impression that cannabis strength has increased a lot in the past 30 years. Do they mean that this ancient cannabis was of a strength similar to modern cannabis or just that it was higher in THC concentration than a natural plant would be?
- badosu 7y agoProbably residues from high potency parts like flowers.
- ct0 7y agoMost likely higher then a wild plant, potentially implying cultivation.
- wavefunction 7y agoOr simply processing many plants into hash such has been done for millenia in various cultures around the world.
- codr7 7y agoThe best stuff [0] is still obtained by simply rubbing flowers between the hands until enough resin accumulates, it wouldn't surprise me if they had already figured that one out. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charas
- skellera 7y agoWe have much better extraction methods these days using solvents.
- codr7 7y agoMore efficient maybe, which isn't really top priority from a user perspective. Personally, I prefer my smoke without a touch of solvents. Bubble Hash (mixing with ice and filtering frozen resin) is a natural alternative that comes close, but the processing still lowers the quality.
- anigbrowl 7y agoWhile I don't share the GP's taste for charas, 'better' is relative. Many people do not care for this industrial approach to something they regard as quasi-sacred, in the same way that many people are turned off by overly processed food.
- caymanjim 7y agoThe article covers this: > 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. and later: > “To our excitement we identified the biomarkers of cannabis, notably chemicals related to the psychoactive properties of the plant,” said Yimin Yang at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Specifically, the scientists found cannabinol, a substance produced when THC is oxidised. Given the lack of other cannabis breakdown products, the scientists believe the plants were selected to be high in THC, but whether they were cultivated or found in the wild is unclear.
- velox_io 7y agoThere's a fascinating documentary called: 'The Lost History of Cannabis'. It goes through how religion seems to be intertwined with cannabis. For instance the 'anointment oils'. How it probably wasn't Mer gifted by one of the Three Wise Men (I tend to agree). Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2p6qFT_Zjg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2p6qFT_Zjg
- ct0 7y agoI could imagine why religion was so much more popular in early history now.
- otisfunkmeyer 7y agofavorite comment here in some time.
- xkcd-sucks 7y agoI mean yeah all religions start out as nutty cults and calcify with age
- nvr219 7y agoBlaze it
- roflchoppa2 7y agoamen
- killjoywashere 7y agoWe can look forward to a Japanese article how they did it first in the not too distant future. Then the various camps on migratory timing to the new world via the Bering Strait will discover evidence somewhere between Anchorage and Santa Cruz. And then the Red states will be screaming about how only real Americans smoke pot.
- benbreen 7y agoI love this finding, in part because (as the article notes briefly here) it helps back up Herodotus' account of cannabis use in his Histories. Specifically this bit from Book 4, 73-75: "After the burial the Scythians cleanse themselves as follows: they anoint and wash their heads and, for their bodies, set up three poles leaning together to a point and cover these over with wool mats; then, in the space so enclosed to the best of their ability, they make a pit in the center beneath the poles and the mats and throw red-hot stones into it. . . . the Scythians then take the seed of this κάνναβις (kannabis) and, crawling into the tents, throw it on the red-hot stones, where it smoulders and sends forth such fumes that no Greek vapor-bath could surpass it. The Scythians howl in their joy at the vapor-bath. This serves them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water." What's especially fascinating to me is that Herodotus wrote that account circa 440 BCE, within a few decades of when this find has been dated, and his "Scythians" were probably part of a larger cultural group of Indo-European nomads stretching to what is now Western China.
- will_brown 7y agoWhat is a “Greek vapor bath”? In this context it sounds like it would compete with cannabis. Maybe a reference to something like what got the Oricle of Delphi high? Is it just reference to a regular Greek hot bath?
- benbreen 7y agoI would think he's just referencing public steam baths, not unlike hammams or saunas today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Baths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Baths
- leetcrew 7y ago> Maybe a reference to something like what got the Oricle of Delphi high? probably not. contemporary writers connected the oracle's "powers" to vapors rising from the spring below the temple.
- flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago>What is a “Greek vapor bath”? A bath or Thermae as they are known as which are still in existence today. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae
- hurrdurr2 7y agoIt's really interesting how stable CBN is after oxidizing from THC... it also apparently has a strong anti-anxiety effect similar to benzos. It is currently in a lot of cannabis sleep aids.
- microtherion 7y agoSo do the Chinese call it "820" ?
- SN76477 7y agoI often thought that the parts of the bible that talk about burning incense could be speaking of intoicating effects such as cannabis. Fascinating find.
- cronix 7y agoThis article from 2008 seems to predate it. It also talked about sensimilla crops (separating males from females for cultivation). http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28034925/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/worlds-oldest-marijuana-stash-totally-busted/#.XQHbeHtlA6g http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28034925/ns/technology_and_science...
- _emacsomancer_ 7y agoHere is the area the article discusses, the Pamir mountains: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/SakastanMap.jpg/800px-SakastanMap.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Sa... It is in present-day far western China, an area which is historically in the Indian/Iranian sphere of influence.