The earliest evidence of tobacco use dates to over 12,000 years ago
It’s unclear how ancient North American hunter-gatherers used the plant
![an ancient burned tobacco seed shown from three angles](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/100721_bb_tobacco_feat_rev.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Burned tobacco seeds found at an archaeological site in Utah, including this seed shown here from multiple angles, date to more than 12,000 years ago.
D. Duke et al/Nature Human Behavior 2021