Did ancient people grow cannabis for hemp or to get high? Both, and the evidence shows it: the plant was grown for oil, fiber and seed, and a Science study published November 5, 2026 reports the oldest directly dated archaeological evidence of intoxicating use, from a royal tomb in southern Siberia.
Seeds alone can’t answer the question. The tomb held about 1,000 cannabis seeds, but a seed shows the plant was present, not that anyone got high. What points toward intoxicating use is a chemical trace in preserved human hair, so that is where to look.
Did ancient people grow cannabis for hemp, oil or medicine?
Yes, and that is the baseline. The University of Bern release on the study says cannabis “served various purposes, such as the production of oil or fiber, and was not used solely as medicine or a drug.”
A 2017 review of cannabis in Chinese medicine notes that cannabis “has a long history of utilization as a fiber and seed crop in China.” A 2019 review, “Cannabis: An ancient friend or foe?”, describes cannabis as cultivated “for a multitude of uses over a period of thousands of years,” including recreational and medicinal ones.
If you want to know what the plant is used for today, read what hemp oil is used for.
What did the Siberian tomb study find?
Gino Caspari of the University of Bern led a team that examined a princely Scythian tomb in Tyva, a republic in southern Siberia. The Bern release says about 1,000 seeds were recovered, while CNN reports more than 1,400. Either way, six seeds were radiocarbon dated to the early eighth century BCE. The release says the seeds “likely stem from wild plants,” and that their presence in a grave “does not, in and of itself, prove the psychoactive use of cannabis.”
That is why the team tested preserved human hair from the central burial chamber. They found clear signals for cannabinol (CBN) in several samples, plus weaker signals consistent with THC. CBN forms when THC breaks down over time, so finding it in hair points to intoxicating cannabis compounds having reached the body. ScienceAlert reports that every hair sample tested showed the CBN signals.
How do researchers tell hemp use from getting high?
The seeds show what was in the grave. The hair shows what was in the person. Hair resists decomposition, and as it grows, traces of substances circulating through the body can become trapped in its keratin structure, according to ScienceAlert’s report on the study. That makes hair a chemical record that outlasts the person.
Caspari connects the two: “The molecular traces in the hair and the cannabis seeds come from the same grave and suggest that cannabis was used for its intoxicating properties.”
Here is how the main findings line up.
| Finding | What it shows | What it can’t tell you |
|---|---|---|
| About 1,000 seeds in the tomb | Cannabis was present and placed in the burial, likely from wild plants | Whether anyone used it to get high |
| CBN signals in hair | Intoxicating cannabis compounds reached the body | How much was taken, or how it got in |
| Residues on heated stones and in vessels at later Central Asian sites | Cannabinoids were used at those later sites, with inhalation indicated | The method used in the Tyva tomb |
What can’t the Siberian tomb study tell us?
The researchers name the limits themselves, and they matter if you are trying to judge how these plants were used.
- THC content. The findings “do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the THC content of the plants from that time.”
- Selection or cultivation. It has not yet been possible “to determine whether the plants were specifically selected or cultivated for higher levels of active compounds.”
- Amount. The hair analyses “do not allow for a reliable determination of the amount consumed.”
- Method. It is not possible “to determine with certainty how the active compounds entered the body.”
- Purpose. The paper suggests cannabis may have helped “calm individuals who were to be included in the rituals.” Caspari adds that it “might also have been used to sedate the victims,” but says “we cannot prove that.”
Was ancient cannabis smoked or inhaled?
The Tyva tomb can’t answer this on its own. Later archaeological sites in Central Asia had cannabinoid residues on heated stones and inside vessels. The Bern release says these point to inhalation, “clearly indicating inhalation.” Popular Science describes the same residues as strongly suggesting inhalation. Those sites are later than the tomb, so treat them as a clue about the region, not a confirmed method for the Tyva burial.
When was the earliest known use of cannabis?
It depends on which use you mean. CNN reports, citing the researchers’ statement, that cannabis was cultivated in East Asia at least 6,000 years ago, probably for its oil-rich seeds. Use for its mind-altering effects had previously been found as far back as 2,500 years ago, according to the same report.
The Siberian tomb is now the one to remember for intoxicating use. The Bern release calls it “currently the oldest directly dated archaeological evidence of the use of cannabis for its intoxicating properties.”
Does the hemp versus marijuana line apply to ancient cannabis?
Today the line is drawn by THC. The NIDA research FAQ quotes the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act, which defines hemp as cannabis with a delta-9 THC concentration of “not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” Marijuana is defined as above that level.
The THC content of the ancient plants is unknown, so nothing in these reports places them on either side of that line. For how the line is applied today, read drug tests and legal rules.
What should you check next?
- Compare the seed count before you quote it. The Bern release says about 1,000, and CNN says more than 1,400. Check the study itself for the final figure.
- Watch for the DNA results. The researchers are sequencing seeds from the tomb to trace the plant’s domestication and spread.
- Read why cannabis study results conflict to see how to weigh one study against others.
Biblical references, the 420 story, the origin of the word “cannabis” and the founding fathers are outside this study. For those, a historian of the ancient world or early America is the right person to ask.
By TakeHempGummies.com Consumer Research Desk