Forensic scientists at the University of Milan's Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology have made a groundbreaking discovery: traces of cannabis have been found in human bones buried near the Ospedale Maggiore (main hospital) in the 17th century. This is the first time that cannabis has been detected in archaeological human remains.
The scientists analyzed samples from nine different skeletons, and two of them tested positive for cannabis. The bones belonged to a woman in her 50s and a teenage boy. The presence of cannabis in their bones suggests that they had used the drug recreationally or medicinally.
Cannabis has been used for centuries for its psychoactive and therapeutic properties. In the 17th century, cannabis was a popular remedy for a variety of ailments, including pain, anxiety, and epilepsy. It is also possible that the two individuals in this study used cannabis recreationally.
This discovery is significant because it provides new evidence of cannabis use in the past. It also suggests that cannabis may have been more widely used in Europe than previously thought.
The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. The lead author of the study is Gaia Giordano, a biologist and doctoral student at the University of Milan.
The authors of the research wrote that in this paper, we presented the data obtained from toxicological investigations on long bone samples collected from the dead patients of the Ca' Granda hospital, one of the most important hospitals in Europe of the 17th century.
"The toxicological analyses performed on bone samples revealed the presence of the cannabis plant in the femoral samples of two individuals (22% of the total bone samples analyzed)."
As per the researchers, the analytical data obtained shed a new light on the habits of the population under investigation, demonstrating an exposure to the plant in the city of Milano during the modern era, probably for recreational purposes given written sources, although self-medication, occupational or accidental exposure, or administration by healers not practicing in Ca' Granda are alternative possibilities that cannot be excluded.
