The picture looks boring but the story is not. In the last decade archeologists made a startling discovery at a burial ground in northwest China. A man, buried over 2500 years ago, was laid out on a wooden bed with a reed pillow beneath his head with 13 cannabis plants placed diagonally across his chest. The roots were placed under his pelvis and the tops were under his chin and up the left side of his face.
In a report in the journal Economic Botany, archaeologist Hongen Jiang and his colleagues describe the burial of an approximately 35-year-old adult man with Caucasian features in China’s Turpan Basin. The man had been laid out on a wooden bed with a reed pillow beneath his head.
Kristin Romey, the National Geographic reporter who wrote the story says, “The question archaeologists grapple with when they encounter cannabis is the purpose of its presence. This multipurpose plant has been valued not only for its psychoactive properties, but also for its durable hemp fibers, which could be woven into cloth, as well as its nutritious, oil-rich seeds.”
But no hemp fibers or textiles were found and the seeds appeared too small to be used as food. But the scientists could see that the flowering heads were covered with trichomes which means the plants were probably harvested for the resin son it could be inhaled or used in a beverage – just like today. You can read Kristin Romey’s story and see Hongen Jiang’s photographs on the National Geographic website. Click HERE. National Geographic has covered the cannabis issue in depth and accurately for many years.