Carney Matheson

Associate Professor, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution; conducted biochemical analysis

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Last updated Sep 11, 2026

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Ancient Indonesian skeletons reveal earliest known human drug use

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As of September 2026: Co-author on the Science Advances paper

Two sets of remains from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi carry teeth worn into deep, rounded grooves and traces of betel nut residue in their dental tissue. One individual lived 25,000 to 16,000 years ago; the other 7,600 to 6,300 years ago.

Updated Sep 11