Israel finds "world's earliest" record of opium use

STORY: Israel finds "world's earliest" record of opium use DATELINE: Sept. 21, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:39 LOCATION: Jerusalem CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. shots of the entrance of Israel Antiquities Authority offices 2. shots of the main lab of Israel Antiquities Authority 3. shots of pottery vessels 4. various of Dr. Ron Be'eri of the Israel Antiquities Authority showing the pottery vessels 5. shots of pottery vessels 6. various of Dr. Ron Be'eri STORYLINE: Israeli researchers have found opium remains in pottery vessels discovered in central Israel, dating back to about 3,400 years ago. This is the world's earliest known evidence for the use of a hallucinogenic drug, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University (TAU) said in a joint statement on Tuesday. In a study, conducted by the IAA, TAU and the Weizmann Institute of Science in central Israel and published in the journal Archaeometry, the team revealed that the Canaanites used opium in burial rituals as an offering for the dead.