{
  "id": 6455144,
  "title": "World's oldest evidence of habitual drug use traced back 25,000 years to Indonesia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/worlds-oldest-evidence-of-habitual-drug-use-traced-back-25-000-years",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-09T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/worlds-oldest-evidence-of-habitual-drug-use-traced-back-25-000-years-to-indonesia"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New research reveals that the world's oldest evidence of habitual drug use dates back 25,000 years to an island in Indonesia. Two prehistoric hunter-gatherers had strange grooves in their teeth caused by regularly sucking on betel nuts, palm seeds that contain a neuroactive substance. The discovery, published in Science Advances, suggests the numbing nuts did not relieve toothache as intended, but may have worsened dental conditions over time. Betel nut chewing, now prevalent in South Asia and Oceania, is the earliest-known addictive behavior.",
  "summary": "Hunter-gatherers from the last ice age sucked on betel nuts to soothe their toothaches, a new study reveals.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Indonesia’s wildfire emissions surge to world’s highest, data shows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/indonesias-wildfire-emissions-surge-to-worlds-highest-data-shows",
        "published": "2026-09-09T15:30:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Scientist",
        "title": "Earliest evidence of habitual drug use found in teeth in Indonesia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/earliest-evidence-of-habitual-drug-use-found-in-teeth-in-indonesia",
        "published": "2026-09-09T18:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}