Study Traces Ancient Origins of Cannabis to Tibetan Plateau
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to a new study published online on May 14, researchers from the University of Vermont uncovered evidence to suggest that cannabis evolved 28 million years ago at a specific area on the Tibetan plateau.
Published in the journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, the study was called “Cannabis in Asia: its center of origin and early cultivation, based on a synthesis of subfossil pollen and archaeobotanical studies.” The purpose of the study was to find the oldest common ancestors of the modern cannabis plant.
The team was led by John McPartland from the University of Vermont. Investigators examined wild-type plant distribution data and added 155 fossil pollen studies to zero in on the earliest known origins of the cannabis plant. The team believes that 28 million years ago, hops and cannabis last shared a common ancestor. They also pinpointed the earliest habitat of cannabis, which thrived because of the arid, steppe-like conditions caused by the formation of the Tibetan plateau due to plate tectonics.
“These data converge on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which we deduce as the Cannabis centre of origin, in the general vicinity of Qinghai Lake,” wrote researchers. “This co-localizes with the first steppe community that evolved in Asia.” While cannabis pollen looks almost identical to hop pollen, researchers were able to distinguish the two species based on the natural habitats.
The origin site is only a few hundred kilometers from Baishiya Karst Cave, a cave that researchers recently announced was once home to Denisovans, an ancient relative of Homo sapiens. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Denisovans had access to cannabis, as the earth was in the midst of ice age, but they may have transported cannabis seeds from another place. Cannabis pollen has also been found in other caves known to be homes for Denisovans.
Humans have utilized cannabis for various reasons since before history was recorded. Cannabis flowers have been used as a drug for at least 27,000 years. This study moves us closer to understanding the origin of the first cannabis plants, and the first humanoids to use them.
