Cannabis May Have Been Used in China 12,000 Years Ago
大麻可能於一萬兩千年前就已經在中國使用

主持人：陳彣 (Neil)

Article
A study has found that cannabis may have been used by humans in China around 12,000 years ago.

Researchers studied 110 genomes found in different types of cannabis and found that domesticated cannabis diverged from wild forms around 12,000 years ago.

They also discovered that the plant was first domesticated in East Asia, with the first relatives of wild cannabis now found in China. This is different from the results of earlier research, which suggested that cannabis was first domesticated in Central Asia, not East Asia.

It coincides with the dating of hemp cord in China and Taiwan, which was used in pottery making 12,000 years ago.

Furthermore, the researchers found that domesticated cannabis diverged into hemp and drug types around 4,000 years ago. Before then, the same plant was probably used both to make fabric and as a drug.

The researchers also found that cannabis first arrived in India around 3,000 years ago, when it likely came from China with other crops.

Cannabis was one of the first plants to be domesticated by humans. However, because it is still illegal in many countries, it can be difficult to research.

Summary
中國人可能在一萬兩千年前就已使用過大麻了！研究發現，這種植物最早是在東亞被人工培植，最早跟野生大麻的近親目前是在中國發現。這跟更早期的研究結果有所不同，以前的研究指出大麻最初是在中亞經人工培植，而不是東亞。這和台灣在一萬兩千年前用在製作陶器的麻繩年代符合。此外，研究人員還發現，人工培植的大麻大約在四千年前分化成麻類植物和藥物種。 在那之前，同種植物可能用來製作織物和藥物。此外，因為大麻在許多國家仍是非法的，所以進行這份研究有相當的難度。

Words & Phrases
genome基因組
domesticate人工培植
diverge出現差異

References
Article: Engoo Daily News
(https://engoo.com.tw/app/daily-news/article/cannabis-may-have-been-used-in-china-12000-years-ago/GVSDWPrOEeu602-HcbmEYg)
(https://engoo.com.tw/)

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