An exciting archaeological discovery from prehistoric times – the world’s oldest cannabis plant from Saxony-Anhalt?

Researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin came across a spectacular plant fossil whilst cataloguing the collection. Further investigations are now underway to determine whether this is indeed by far the oldest known specimen of the Cannabis genus. It is certainly a highlight.

Given the high demand amongst the general public, the near future for cannabis plants looks bright. But what did their geological past actually look like? When did the story of these THC-containing (tetrahydrocannabinol) plants from the Cannabaceae family – to which hops also belong, incidentally – actually begin?

The species known today as Cannabis sativa originally hails from north-west China. This is at least what analyses of the plant’s oldest pollen grains, dating from the Miocene epoch some 20 million years ago, suggest. Even today, the plant’s natural range is in north-west China and neighbouring regions. However, molecular dating of the genetic material of living specimens suggests that the genus could be as much as 28 million years old.

This assumption is now being challenged by a plant fossil from the collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. It is a leaf impression in fossilised mud, which was described as Cannabis oligocaenica by Paul Friedrich as early as 1883. Contrary to the ‘Oligocene’ time period indicated in its name, according to more recent dating, the fossil dates from the Lower Eocene period, approximately 56–48 million years ago, and is thus significantly older than previously known specimens. It comes from near Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt, which also calls into question the origin of the plant genus in Central Asia.

In fact, the shape of the imprint, with its serrated, lanceolate leaves, bears a surprising resemblance to modern cannabis plants. However, further characteristics are missing from the fossil record for a definitive classification. For example, the fine hairs on the leaf surfaces. Incidentally, the THC in these hairs serves to protect the plant from predators. Whether the fauna of the Eocene experienced any intoxicating moments is, of course, not recorded. Either way, cannabis plants may well have been an important part of our Central European landscape as far back as the early prehistoric period.

The only thing that is certain so far is that the fossil represents a real ‘high’light in the collection of the Berlin Museum of Natural History. Incidentally, you can also experience an intoxicating journey into the Earth’s past, entirely without stimulants, by visiting the exhibitions.