Tuesday, June 14, 2011

How Marijuana Changed Ancient Culture

By Jared Perkins


Much can be learned about a culture by looking at how they used their environment around of them. When you look at ancient cultures you may be surprised at what plants were used in day to day life for basic survival. Amongst these plants is the cannabis plant. There have been a surprising number of cultures over the years that have used the cannabis plant to serve a wide number of purposes.



The ancient people of the Yang-Shao were some of the first to be on record as depending on the cannabis plant for basic survival. They were a hunting and fishing culture that lived along the Yellow River Valley in China around 6,500 years ago. They used the cannabis plant to make hemp nets and other tools in order to gather food. Hemp later became important in the world of clothing with the development of hemp cloth. Hemp cloth replaced animal skins as the clothing of choice. It was even the clothing of choice for the wealthy until the introduction of silk.

As time progressed more uses of the cannabis plant were developed in ancient China. The daily diet of ancient cultures included more hemp than you would think. Hemp seeds were ground up, cooked in soups, or roasted to perfection. Hemp seeds were even said to have saved a famine struck Asian culture going through a terrible war.



Some of the earliest recorded "doctors" were well aware of the medicinal purposes of marijuana. The cannabis flower was first prescribed for constipation, absent-mindedness, malaria, and even female disorders. Pain relieving pastes were made from ground up marijuana flowers and used in situations of extreme pain such as surgery. These uses date back as early as 2000 BC.

The later production of hemp oil and paper proved very useful. Hemp paper is still unmatched in it's durability and tear resistant nature. As a matter of fact the Canadians are so impressed that they use it as their currency. Some high end books, including bibles, are still printed on hemp paper. Hemp seed oil was used in just about everything. It generally used in cooking and leftover oil formed high protein cakes perfect for the family pet. Other uses include lamp oil, varnish, paint, and even in the making of soap. It is apparent how essential the cannabis plant was to ancient cultures.




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