Betel nut habit may date back 25,000 years in Sulawesi

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorI'll say it plainly: if people have done something for thousands of years, it's good for you. That's what tradition means.

2. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentResearchers in Sulawesi in Indonesia just tested that, in a way.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentTwo ancient skeletons had deep grooves worn into their teeth, the South China Morning Post reports.

4. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorGrooves. In teeth.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe study in Science Advances says they match a whole betel nut rolled around in the mouth for years.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe older skeleton is roughly twenty-five thousand years old.

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo what was the nut doing for them?

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe team found traces of arecoline, its main psychoactive compound.

9. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThey suggest it may have numbed the mouth. But Professor Brumm points to a vicious cycle of toothaches.

10. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo it numbed the pain it was causing.

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    Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentCareful, that's a suggestion, not a finding.

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    Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe study covers two people, and the earlier verified use in teeth was only about four thousand years ago.

13. 

    Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe ruling: old, yes. Good for you, the teeth say no.

14. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorFine. New belief: my pen cap since the nineties is a civilization. It has grooves.