Researchers Find Cannabis In Ancestral Chinese Tomb: They Used It As Food, According To Study

By Franca Quarneti via El Planteo.
A study published in the journal Agricultural Archeology found that cannabis played an important role in the life and diet of the Tang dynasty, which ruled in China from 618 to 907.

As reported by The Growth Op, the archaeological discovery took place during a construction site, in the courtyard of a primary school in the Shanxi province, in northern China.

There, a tomb belonging to Guo Xing, a mythical warrior who fought in battles on the Korean peninsula, was unearthed.

Some of the seeds found in the tomb were almost twice the size of normal, indicating that this is not the typical cannabis of today.

Cannabis as food in imperial China

In the grave, there were several jars containing basic foodstuffs, including remains of cannabis and seeds of the plant, some of which maintained their original color. In statements collected by the South China Morning Post, Jin Guiyun, a professor at the school of history and culture at Shandong University, assured: “The cannabis was kept in a pot on the coffin, among other basic grains such as millet. . Guo Xing's descendants evidently buried cannabis as an important food crop."
Furthermore, in the study, the group of researchers explained: "We can begin to reconstruct a picture of funeral rites that included flames, rhythmic music, and hallucinogen smoke, all with the intention of guiding people into an altered state of mind."

Despite the plant's importance to Chinese history and culture, the country banned marijuana in the 1950s.