Ancient Tomb Evidence Shows Cannabis Intoxication 2,800 Years Ago
WHO:
ABC News - The archaeological team included researchers from Germany, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.
ABC News - Co-author Gino Caspari is an archaeologist at the University of Bern.
ABC News - Volker Auwaerter, head of the forensic toxicology section at University Medical Center in Freiburg, Germany, was not part of the study and questioned its hair analysis.
Phys.org - The article describes cannabis as one of the most commonly used psychoactive plants today.
WHAT:
ABC News - The excavation also uncovered weapons, horse gear and artifacts decorated with animal-style motifs.
ABC News - A study suggests cannabis was used for psychoactive purposes at least 2,800 years ago, potentially 300 years earlier than previously known use in neighboring China.
ABC News - Researchers found more than 1,000 cannabis seeds and preserved human hair in a royal tomb; the findings may represent the earliest known evidence of cannabis use for psychoactive purposes.
ABC News - The seeds’ presence in the tomb suggests the plant material had significance in the community; Caspari said they were “not there by accident.”
ABC News - Auwaerter called the hair analysis “scientifically weak” and said it did not distinguish cannabis consumption from external exposure. He said the study’s evidence was insufficient to establish cannabis use or psychoactive effects.
ABC News - Auwaerter said a forensic toxicology lab test would have been advisable and easy to arrange.
ABC News - Cannabis seeds can be used for oil, and cannabis fibers for cloth, so seeds alone do not establish drug use.
Phys.org - Cannabis had multiple uses, including producing oil and fiber, and was not used solely as medicine or a drug.
WHERE:
ABC News - The excavation was at the Tunnug 1 site in the Uyuk Valley of southern Siberia, at a large burial mound.
ABC News - The tomb was among the earliest monumental tombs associated with Scythian material culture; Scythian nomads migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia and Ukraine.
WHEN:
ABC News - Radiocarbon dating of some seeds helped establish their age as approximately 2,800 years.
ABC News - The excavation began in 2017.
ABC News - Herodotus wrote about Central Asian inhabitants smoking cannabis around 440 B.C.
ABC News - The findings were published in the journal *Science*.
WHY:
ABC News - The researchers investigated ancient cannabis use because archaeological evidence can be difficult to interpret: cannabis may have been used for oil or fiber as well as for medicine or intoxication.
Phys.org - Prehistoric cannabis use is difficult to determine because flowers, leaves and resins are perishable and rarely survive.
HOW:
ABC News - The archaeological team lived in tents for months during the dig, facing swamps, snowstorms, frosts and swarms of mosquitoes; horses roamed freely across the steppe.
ABC News - Researchers combined evidence from cannabis seeds and preserved human hair found in the same tomb; Caspari said it was “extremely rare” to find preserved plant parts and human soft tissue with active compounds together.
ABC News - The team excavated the burial mound and used radiocarbon dating on some of the seeds.
ABC News - Researchers could not determine whether cannabis was inhaled or ingested.
Phys.org - Archaeological identification is complicated by the poor preservation of plant parts such as flowers, leaves and resins.
(UPDATED November 6, 2026 00:02 UTC)
Researchers found cannabis seeds and preserved hair in a Siberian royal tomb. Evidence suggests psychoactive cannabis use there around 2,800 years ago. But an expert questioned whether hair analysis proves consumption or intoxication.
--
(UPDATED November 5, 2026 22:17 UTC)
A Siberian tomb yielded over 1,000 cannabis seeds and preserved human hair, suggesting ancient psychoactive use. The seeds date back about 2,800 years. But hair analysis cannot confirm intoxication.