Evolution of the Cannabis Plant
- To determine the original occurrence of cannabis with some accuracy, we must consider the climatic conditions necessary for its flourishing, look at the first fossil records, and also examine the first evidence of human use of this plant
Medical cannabis is among the first plants that humanity began to actively cultivate. Due to its deeply rooted history, we have plenty of information about its use by various cultures and people from around the world. Numerous historical documents and archaeological findings help us learn how, why, and when cannabis appeared in different parts of our Earth. However, the matter becomes much more blurry when we want to obtain information about the true origin and evolution of this versatile herb.
Currently, we do not have any fossil record of the absolute first cannabis plants. Cannabis has always been a valuable trade commodity and, as such, spread far and wide across the world during human migration, which is another reason why it is difficult for us to pinpoint its true origin.
The lack of solid evidence forces researchers to approach the research deductively and use knowledge of related plants, which can ultimately help us create a meaningful theory about how and why medical cannabis actually originated.
What conditions does cannabis need to thrive healthily?
If we want to determine the evolutionary source of cannabis with some accuracy, we must first look at the environmental conditions in which it performs best. For example, the volume of sunlight, temperature, humidity, and the combination of all parameters in which cannabis flourishes. We know that cannabis is a sun-loving plant that enjoys higher temperatures. With such knowledge, we can quite safely assume that cannabis originally developed in a more open type of environment that lacks higher vegetation casting too much shade.
We also know that cannabis reacts to photoperiod - it grows furiously during the longer days of spring and summer, while during shorter days and lengthening nights, it begins to bloom. Moreover, cannabis does not like excessive cold, but if it has a sufficient supply of water and nutrients, it can survive periods of extreme heat.
While cannabis can withstand humid conditions, overly dry environments do not suit it. Furthermore, excessively humid environments are rich in invasive fungi, against which cannabis has difficulty defending itself - it needs soil that drains moisture well.
Taking all these facts into account, we can form a fairly clear picture of the environment in which cannabis originally developed: a moderate northern climate with hot, humid summers where it can calmly complete its 4-6 month life cycle in sandy, alluvial soils near water courses.
When did the first cannabis emerge?
We have almost answered the question of where cannabis approximately originated, so now we can address when cannabis first appeared on the earth's surface. Due to the crucial lack of fossil records, we must look at plants related to cannabis. Here, too, we encounter some controversy, as the taxonomic classification of cannabis differs from botanist to botanist.
As the first, Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher classified cannabis and its sister plant, hops, in the plant family Cannabaceae in 1837. Later, cannabis was reclassified by other botanists into Urticaceae - the nettle family, and subsequently into the fig family - Moraceae.
However, in 2003, an article appeared in the New Zealand official botany journal by authors John Mcpartland and Judith Nicholson, who explored plant kinship based on parasite similarities. The authors ultimately found that 7 parasites active on cannabis plants also occur in the Urticaceae plant family, with none of these 7 occurring in Moraceae. From this data, based on Fahrenholz's rule, we can conclude that Cannabaceae developed from or alongside Urticaeae.
The oldest currently available fossil record suggests that the Urticaeae family developed during the Oligocene period, which began approximately 34 million years ago. Hops (Humulus lupulus), cannabis's closest sibling, fully developed 6.38 million years ago. We can thus roughly assume that cannabis developed sometime between 34 and 6.38 million years ago.
Where did cannabis originally develop?
Now we need to look at historical and archaeological traces that hint at where and when cannabis was first used by humans. One recent discovery is a Neolithic construction site in Tai-Wanum, dating back to 12,000 years before our era, where ceramics decorated with pressed cannabis cord were found. Furthermore, in 2003, a 2,700-year-old tomb with a mummified shaman was discovered in northwestern China, specifically in the Xinjiang region, with some cannabis seed and leaf remains.
The historical use of medical cannabis is also well documented in the ancient sacred texts of Hinduism, Atharva Veda, which originated approximately 1,400 to 2,000 years before our era.
There is also evidence of the ancient Yam culture from the area of present-day northern Europe and its use of cannabis for both its psychoactive properties and as a raw material for rope production, roughly 3,000 years before our era. Other evidence suggests that people of ancient Egypt began using cannabis around 1,550 years before our era. However, for the rest of Africa, cannabis was introduced much later. In the New World, cannabis appeared only with the arrival of European colonists.
All these pieces of evidence logically lead us to conclude that cannabis originally developed in the Eurasian region. Moreover, considering that the European type of wild cannabis is not as psychoactive as its variety from South and East Asia, we can assume that the very first cannabis originated in Central Asia, from where it spread further into the world.
The natural occurrence of cannabis naturally changed with climatic changes, so determining the exact location of its original occurrence is tricky. Some theories specifically mention the northern area of Tian Shan or the Altai Mountains.
Considering our knowledge of cannabis's climatic requirements and the first historical records of its human use, the theory of its original occurrence in Central Asia currently offers the most sensible explanation. Here, the first people migrating from Africa likely encountered it 120,000 years ago.
The rest, as they say, is history.