Roots hemp economy goes in the Bronze Age
Hemp was actively used by mankind, as in the economy as well as a means of economic exchange is already about 10 thousand years ago. Halo spread of the most highly profitable oldest crop was the territory of at least the entire Eurasian continent.
Thanks to the work with the new database containing information on several decades of archaeological research on the Eurasian continent, the researchers from the Free University of Berlin were able to establish that cannabis played a vital role in the economy of the oldest civilizations of the world.
Published in the journal "arheobotanika and vegetation history" article, written by a team of scientists in Berlin, led by researchers Tenvenom Long and Pavel Tarasov, claims that hemp was actively used by mankind, as in the economy as well as a means of economic exchange is already about 10 thousand years ago. Halo spread of the most highly profitable oldest crop was the territory of at least the entire Eurasian continent - from modern Portugal to Japan. Around 5,000 BC, the level of its cultivation and use of the various components of the plant as a specific exchange standard is largely increased with the advent of the first sedentary civilizations. Best of all discovery researchers were able to describe the New Science editors of the popular science magazine called article on the study: "The founders of prehistoric civilization were traders of cannabis."
Most scientists botanists agree that cannabis was originally growing in Central Asia. How to write the doctor of botany, Robert Clark and Marc Merlin, in his book "Hemp: Evolution and ethnobotany", published in 2013: "Hypothetically, the first contact of mankind with hemp place in temperate regions of Central Asia, where the plant that grew in abundance, has attracted the attention of our ancestors, gradually open many of its useful economic function of medicine and the basics of protein diet and to the use of fibers for the production of various textile and knitted products. "
As we found out scientists from Germany, the first hemp began to appear in the remains of human settlements dating back 11,500-10,200 years BC, meaning that by the end of the last Ice Age, the people of Eurasia actively used in the business needs of the various components of the plant.
At the beginning of the Bronze Age in the eastern and central Asia has sharply increased the level of agricultural production of hemp, due to the emergence of the first transcontinental trade routes across the steppes of the continent. It was during this period of time the tribes living on the territory of modern Mongolia have mastered the art of horsemanship, greatly accelerated the process of migration of people and goods across Europe and Asia. Over the next several thousand years, the trade route from Asia to Europe continued to grow, becoming as a result of the fact that today is called the "Great Silk Way".
The so-called prehistoric "yamna culture" of Central Asia, which has become one of the foundations of most civilizations in the European part of the continent, spread in the direction of Asia, where they met with the traditions of the tribes who have discovered the properties of hemp. According to the researchers, it is this prehistoric contact created a demand for an extremely useful plant among the peoples of Europe who had no previous access to the Asian plant. It is made of hemp seeds profitable means of exchange between the tribes, which, in turn, became the precursor of future global trade routes.
"While it is only a convincing and interesting hypothesis requires scientific testing," said Dr. Tenven Long told New Scientist magazine. Long convinced that hemp was the world's first "cash culture", as he put it, "for the exchange of culture, which appeared long before the concept of money and the economy."
So far, the scientists say it is difficult to exactly what purpose our ancestors first adapted hemp, whether its food, medical use or the use of plants for the production of textiles and knitwear. David Anthony, has been studying the "pit culture" at Hartwick College (USA), he told reporters that he received a famous archaeologist evidence indicates that representatives of various ancient cultures have used cannabis in particular, ritual ceremonies. "The facts show that the steppe inhabitants originally used cannabis in religious ceremonies, for which they retain it in large quantities," he said.
Information taken from the site http://tku.org.ua