It is common knowledge that Humans have been cultivating Hemp plants for thousands of years, using it for many purposes including textile production and recreational intoxication. But now archaeologists have discovered something that may change the way we see the past monumentally. 

The expedition was conducted in a series of caves in eastern China, but only one cave contained archaeological findings. The first cave painting was found near the entrance, and depicts two works of art. A person is seen kneeling in front of a fire that is burning a leaf-like symbol. Directly to the right of  this, we see a group of people standing below one person with lines coming from their head. According to Dr. Bakerseed and his team of archaeologists, the symbol represents a marijuana plant, whereas the kneeling person is ritually burning the plant for its psychoactive effects. The people on the right are listening to the council of the enlightened one who has partaken in a marijuana plant burning ritual.

As we walked through the cave that was previously untouched in thousands of years, it felt as though we had stepped into a time capsule. Our findings are in beautiful condition and tell a story that changes our known history of the region.

Dr. Bakerseed, November 22nd 2018.

Further into the cave, a member of the archaeological team called out to those examining the first painting. On the back wall of the cave there was another large scale painting depicting two groups of people fighting over the cannabis plant. Experts say that as the people of this time period were not sedentary, they would change settlements based on availability of naturally growing cannabis plants. It is easy to understand how conflict could arise between a group protecting their cannabis and a group looking for a new settlement. Also found in the cave were remains of hemp seeds, which would not have been burned as part of the ritual as they did not give off an effect. Cannabis was one of the first crops to be domesticated by agricultural humans, but this evidence shows that they had been using the plant long before that.

These new findings change the history of the region of modern-day china, as the cave paintings predate the earliest known use of hemp plants around 6000 BC. Not only were the humans of the time using cannabis for its hallucinogenic properties, but their society was to an extent structured around its use. Leaders of tribes (called Shamen by Dr Bakerseed) would consume the plant for guidance, and territorial battles would be fought just to access it. This proto-religious society predates all other forms of religion and could even be the base for some of the Asian religions we know today. It is no wonder that ancient religious texts refer to the marijuana plant as “Sacred Grass”.