Incense furnace containing marijuana in the tomb of 2,500 years in China

Marijuana residues found in ancient tombs in the mountains of western China are the earliest evidence of the use of this plant.

Scientists from China and Germany analyzed pieces of wood and stone burned from pottery in graves and the results coincided with the chemical composition of marijuana, including large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), substance Main nerve stimulation in this plant. In the study published June 12 in the journal Science Advances, the authors concluded that marijuana could be used in burial rituals as a way to communicate with gods or dead people.

Incense furnace and stone used to burn marijuana.(Photo: CNN).

However, researchers aren't sure whether the ancients would smoke marijuana in the same way today. Most likely marijuana is burned like incense in a closed space to inhale. Dr. Nicole Boivin, director of the Department of Human History in Max Planck Institute, the lead author of the study, said the ancient people burned marijuana on hot stones inside a wooden aroma oven. According to Dr. Boivin, this is the only way to inhale marijuana before the straw appears.

The team found 10 incinerators in the Jirzankal cemetery in the Pamir Mountains near the border between China and Pakistan. Cannabis is grown in East Asia to get seeds and fibers at least 4,000 BC. However, in the early days, many marijuana cultivated as well as wild cannabis had very low levels of nerve stimulants.

Many historians believe that marijuana smoking originated in ancient Central Asia steppe, but the only base is an autograph of the Greek historian Herodotus written at the end of the first millennium BC. According to the authors, this study provides compelling evidence of the practice of smoking marijuana in the area, although it is unclear whether those who buried in the Jirzankal cemetery are actively growing cannabis.

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