A groundbreaking genetic study has revealed that cannabis was first domesticated in East Asia approximately 12,000 years ago, challenging previous beliefs that the plant’s origins lay in Central Asia.
Researchers analyzed 110 cannabis genomes from around the world, employing advanced DNA sequencing techniques to map the plant’s evolutionary history. The study identified four distinct genetic groups, including a newly discovered “basal cannabis” group, which is genetically closest to wild, pre-cultivated strains. This basal group is predominantly found in parts of China, suggesting that the region played a central role in the early domestication of cannabis.
The findings indicate that by around 4,000 years ago, cannabis had diverged into two primary types: hemp, cultivated for its fibers, and psychoactive strains, used for their mind-altering properties. The psychoactive varieties are believed to have spread westward to regions like India approximately 3,000 years ago, while hemp was introduced to North America by European settlers in the 1600s.
Despite these insights, the study acknowledges certain limitations, notably the absence of samples from regions such as Afghanistan and Russia, leaving parts of cannabis’s domestication history still to be uncovered.
This research not only reshapes our understanding of cannabis’s origins but also highlights the significance of East Asia in the early agricultural development of this versatile plant.