Researchers have discovered that ancient people living on the northern coast of modern-day Chile consumed tobacco at least six thousand years ago. This is indicated by cotinine, a nicotine metabolite, preserved in dental calculus extracted from seven samples. According to a paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, it is likely that these ancient people chewed tobacco leaves, as no smoking pipes or other tools of comparable age have been found in the area.
Since ancient times, indigenous peoples in various regions of North and South America have consumed tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) in various forms. To date, researchers have discovered the earliest potential traces of this activity in Utah. During excavations at the Wishbone site, they found four charred tobacco seeds, dating back approximately 12,300 years.
However, there is no direct evidence that people used tobacco that long ago. Such evidence includes smoking pipes, which sometimes retain plaque, or, for example, the presence of tobacco-specific alkaloids in the tartar of ancient people. Such evidence dates back several thousand years.
This time, Pedro Andrare of the University of Concepción and his colleagues focused on finds from the Antofagasta region, located in the north of modern-day Chile. It had previously been assumed that the ancient coastal inhabitants of this region, characterized by harsh conditions, began using tobacco around 3,500–1,500 years ago, based on smoking and inhalation devices, as well as chemical analysis of hair from some individuals.
However, scientists have now selected teeth from 12 ancient individuals from five different sites along the coastal coast of Antofagasta for analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. They decided to test whether tobacco alkaloids—nicotine, nornicotine, anabasine, and cotinine—were preserved in the dental calculus of these individuals. The researchers found no convincing evidence that the first three alkaloids were present in the dental calculus. However, cotinine, a nicotine metabolite, was present on the teeth of seven individuals. According to radiocarbon dating, the oldest of these individuals lived approximately 6,200 years ago.
Cotinine was present in the dental calculus of both men and women. This likely indicates that these people consumed tobacco of the N. solanifolia variety. However, archaeologists have not found any smoking pipes or inhalation devices of comparable age in this area, although even organic artifacts are well preserved there due to the extremely dry climate. Most likely, the authors of the article write, the ancient Americans chewed tobacco leaves, considering it a stimulant or a medicine.
Tobacco was also consumed by the ancient inhabitants of Mesoamerica. For example, American scientists recently analyzed vessels from Cotzumalhuape, a major Late Classic Period city located in what is now Guatemala. They found nicotine inside these artifacts, which are over a thousand years old, indicating that they originally contained tobacco.
