Humans have a very long history of cultivating the cannabis plant, as evidenced by recent research published by a team of scientific investigators based in China and affiliated with various scientific and academic institutions. The team’s findings were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

“As one of the oldest cultivated crops, Cannabis sativa had already been domesticated in East Asia around the early Neolithic (approximately 12,000 BP), most likely in China.” the researchers wrote. “Early domesticated cannabis was first used as a primarily multipurpose crop until ∼4000 years ago, before undergoing strong divergent selection for increased fiber or drug production.”

Obviously, the cannabis plant itself has been around for a very long time, way before humans domesticated it. In 2019, a team of international researchers analyzed fossil pollen studies to pinpoint the origin of the cannabis plant. For many years, fossil pollen studies lumped cannabis pollen together with pollen from the Humulus genus. The international researchers’ 2019 analysis concluded that the cannabis plant originated high on the Tibetan Plateau around 19.6 million years ago.

A recent discovery of a fossil in the collection of the Berlin Natural History Museum points to a potentially different geographical origin that is much older.

“The oldest cannabis plant in the world may not originate from China, but from Saxony-Anhalt. At least, a discovery from prehistoric times in the museum’s collection raises this question, according to a statement released Friday by the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. Researchers reportedly unearthed a “spectacular plant fossil” in the museum’s collection.” reported Stern.

“According to more recent age classifications, the fossil dates from the Lower Eocene period, approximately 56 to 48 million years ago, and is therefore significantly older than previously known fossils. The fossil was reportedly found near Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt, which also calls into question the origin of the plant genus in Central Asia.” the outlet also wrote. However, the fossil found in Berlin still needs to undergo further analysis, so the jury is still out as to whether it is truly the oldest cannabis fossil ever found.

“Along with rice, soy, barley, and millet, Cannabis is considered one of the five main grains by ancient people. The seeds found in Cannabis achenes, rich in proteins (such as albumin and edestin) and essential unsaturated fatty acids (such as linoleic and linolenic acids) served as food, input for other culinary purposes, and even soap production.” researchers previously wrote in the European Journal for Chemistry.

This type of research highlights how cannabis prohibition policies are, in the grand scheme of things, new by historical standards. Humans have a long history of making use of the cannabis plant, and thanks to policy modernization efforts that are ending cannabis prohibition policies, societies around the world are reconnecting with it.