Around 12,500 to 12,000 years ago, ancient North Americans started using tobacco. This is roughly 9,000 years before the oldest indications that they smoked the plant in pipes, said a new study.  

The new discovery replaces the pipe-smoking report as the oldest evidence for the human use of tobacco across the world.  

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At the Wishbone site in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert, excavations uncovered four charred seeds of wild tobacco plants in a small fireplace, said archaeologist Daron Duke from Far Western Anthropological Research Group in Henderson, Nevada and colleagues.  

It is highly likely that the seeds came from plants gathered on foothills or mountains located 13 kilometers or more from the Wishbone area. Three of these seeds were radiocarbon dated by the scientists, the team reported on October 11 in ‘Nature Human Behavior’.  

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At the time of its occupation, the site was located in a sprawling marshland. It’s still unclear how ancient North American hunter-gatherers used the tobacco, said Duke.  

Wads of tobacco leaves, stems and other plant fibers are likely to have been converted into balls and chewed or sucked, and seeds were finally discarded.  

(With inputs from agencies)