Scientists believe cannabis is
one of the goods sent along the Bronze Road to Asia, which later became known
as the Silk Road
A new study, published in the
journal of Vegetation History and Archeobotany, has linked the increased use of
cannabis in East Asia with the rise of transcontinental trade between Europe
and the East between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, at the start of the Bronze Age.
The researchers have presented a
systematic review of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records of
cannabis, which includes the fibres and pollen of the plant, in Europe and East
Asia.
They found that, counter to the
general assumption that cannabis was first used in China or Central Asia, the
plant was found to have been used in Japan and Eastern Europe at nearly the
same point in time, between 11,500 and 10,000 years ago, the New
Scientist reports.
The Yamnaya people, who were based
in what is now Eastern Europe, are thought to have transported cannabis across
the continent as they travelled eastwards.
It is thought that cannabis is
one of the goods sent along the Bronze Road to Asia, which later became known
as the Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes that connected Europe and
China.
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