#BetelNut

A groundbreaking excavation at Nong Ratchawat in western Thailand reveals the world’s oldest confirmed betel nut chewing evidence, dating back 4,000 years to the Bronze Age. Researchers from a leading Thai university used advanced biomolecular analysis to detect arecoline traces in dental plaque from ancient skeletons, establishing betel nut use as a core element of Thai cultural identity across millennia. The study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, connects today’s Thai traditions with ancestral practices and highlights the continuity of Southeast Asian cultural behavior.

Betel nut, known locally as หมาก, remains a vivid thread in Thai markets, temple courtyards, and social rituals. The areca nut from the Areca catechu palm is both a symbol of hospitality and a traditional remedy, even as new research questions its safety. This piece revisits the cultural significance while presenting current health perspectives for Thai readers.

Across the region, betel chewing involves the nut, slaked lime, and betel leaf. In Thailand, the practice is woven into weddings, offerings, and daily interactions. The bright red stain on lips and teeth has long marked social status and community belonging, underscoring how deeply the habit is embedded in life’s ceremonies and everyday moments.

In the vibrant markets and shaded courtyards across Thailand and Southeast Asia, the distinctive reddish tinge of betel nut-chewers’ lips reveals a tradition as old as Thai civilization itself. The seed of the Areca catechu palm—better known as “หมาก” or “betel nut”—stands at the crossroads of culture, medicine, ritual, and modern controversy. Today, it continues to be revered as both a symbol of hospitality and a medicine of tradition, while modern research sheds new light on its potential and peril (Wikipedia).