A short interview with Prof. Yimin Yang, discoverer of ancient Chinese cannabis

About millions of years ago

Speak of a long growing season, cannabis has been shown to have been growing wild on our planet for millions of years and cultivated for perhaps many thousands of years. Cannabis sativa belongs to a narrow group of flowering plants (Cannabinaceae) that includes hops and a handful of others. Originating in Central Asia, cannabis became embedded in early Asian culture when people derived such necessities as twine for tying, fiber for clothing, and more from this leafy little plant with a caravan of uses.

It’s not hard to imagine that somewhere along the Silk Road, a lone night traveler might have wondered what other secrets this little plant might hold and decided to light it. No doubt a possibility, but strong evidence that marijuana was used for its psychotropic effects in ancient times simply does not exist. Or is it?

First reference

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that as early as 440 BC BC the nomadic Scythians used cannabis smoke to purify themselves as part of their post-burial ritual for the deceased loved ones. To paraphrase his account, they dug a pit, then filled it with red-hot stones and formed a small tent with three poles around it. The next step was tossing kavvabic (cannabis) seeds onto the hot rocks, which appeared to raise clouds of a kind rivaling a fine Greek bath house.

As the tent filled with the aromatic intoxicant, the grieving Scythians would crawl inside, inhale the smoke and, according to Herodotus, “howl with joy at the steam bath.” One could reasonably assume that other parts of the cannabis plant hit these hot rocks. (I wonder if that’s where the term “getting stoned” came from?)

Herodotus or not, today’s scholars demand facts and historically there has been no solid evidence that cannabis was burned and smoked to potentiate its psychoactive properties. Until now.

High in the mountains?

In 2013, an international research team led by Yimin Yang, Prof., Department of Archeology and Anthropology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, began excavating the Jirzankal Cemetery in the Pamir Mountains of central China. A region also known as the Pamir Plateau.

At an altitude of 10,000 feet, the team were there to excavate the site and study the ancient tombs of the region’s indigenous peoples. This diverse group of researchers included study co-author Dr. Robert Spengler, director of the Paleoethnobotany Laboratories for the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

The details of their discovery were finally published in the prestigious journal Science Advances in June 2019. The article reported on the excavation of ten wooden braziers at the Pamir Tomb, the contents of which contained a remarkable discovery yet to be realized. In those braziers was still a collection of burnt debris and ash, and in those little piles of ash slumbered an ancient secret.

Courtesy of Yimin Yang

Note: A brazier can be any type of holder, pan, or box, and even a hollowed-out piece of wood for holding hot coals or rocks. They were often used in cooking or in cultural rituals. In this case, these braziers were considered typical funeral incense burners. However, through high-tech analysis methods, they found that their content was anything but typical.

Test 1-2-3

Using the latest scientific methods of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), Professor Yang and his colleagues performed several tests. First, they analyzed the chemical signature in the ash, which to their delight revealed the presence of tetrahydrocannibinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in marijuana.

Further testing revealed that it wasn’t just marijuana, but a strain more potent than any previously wild strain in the region, suggesting cultivation or perhaps even trading; another milestone. Additionally, the high quality of the cannabis lends more credence to the notion that marijuana was smoked intentionally for its mind-altering properties. This was a signal discovery and a historic first.

Adding to the team’s success, further testing found the ancient herb to be at least 2,500 years old, making it the oldest pot directly related to consumption for the purpose of mind-shifting ever discovered. In an interview, Professor Yang speculated that mourners probably smoked cannabis during funeral rites to communicate with the spirit world or the spirit of the recently deceased.

miner

This was an historic discovery worth pursuing. I contacted Professor Yang, leader of the Pamir Expedition, and found him in Beijing. I explained I write for a cannabis-friendly magazine and I’d like to interview him about his team’s findings. He was gracious enough to allow me a quick question and answer session even though he was in a hotel room and on vacation at the time.

For the record, Professor Yang has a PhD in Archaeometry and is a world-renowned authority on the analysis of ancient organic residues.

High Times: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Professor.

Professor Yang: You are welcome.

Regarding the marijuana found in the graves, could you identify its species? Sativa or indica strain?

no There is a long debate about the taxonomy (classification) of cannabis. We simply concluded that the old, burned cannabis was high in THC.

I’m curious. After 2,500 years, how could you say that the cannabis you discovered was strong?

Cannabis with a high THC content often contains a low CBD content. The cannabinoids discovered on the wooden braziers are mostly CBN, suggesting that the burned cannabis plants contained higher levels of THC than typically found in wild plants.

A pattern of relatively equivalent levels of THC and CBD would be expected for wild cannabis plants, but apparent peaks corresponding to the cannabinoids of CBD and its breakdown products (such as cannabielsoin) were not observed in the residue from combustion.

So the GC/MS test results told you that the cannabis in the braziers was a stronger strain than any previously discovered?

Yes.

That must have been a very exciting moment. How big are the braziers you discovered that contain cannabis residue?

The diameter of the braziers is about 10-20 cm.

Have you found signs of cultivation?

There is no clear evidence of cultivation. Archaeologists found some badly burned braziers in the tomb, so we believe these braziers, stones and burning of cannabis happened during the burial ritual.

Have you written other works on this subject that might be read?

It is the first time that cannabis residues have been chemically analyzed, so I have no other papers available.