This article was originally posted at hailmaryjane.com

Throughout human history, humans have relied on the cannabis plant for a wide variety of reasons. From clothing to spiritual reckoning, the leafy green herb has evolved in tandem with our uses and understandings of the plant. Perhaps one of the most versatile crops in existence, here are 10 ancient uses of cannabis you probably didn’t know: 

1. Domesticating horses & animals

Fascinatingly enough, some researchers believe that hemp fiber may have been a useful tool that aided in the first domestication of horses. 

Evidence suggests that horses were domesticated around 5,500 years BCE in the eurasian steppes, an expansive grassland area connecting the European and Asian continents. Evidence also suggests that fiber from domesticated cannabis plants was present by at least 6000 BCE in the same region. 

It’s speculated that hemp fiber nets and other rope and cloth goods were used to handle and capture some of the first domesticated animals. Later in history, hemp fibers were used to make paper. 

2. Pregnancy and labor aid

Using epidurals during labor only became popular in the 1970s. Early humans had no such help. So, women in many cultures around the world turned to cannabis. 

Cannabis was used to ease the pains of childbirth and aid in difficult labor in ancient China, Egypt, India, Persia, Israel/Palestine, and many other Eurasian regions.

Read this entire article at hailmaryjane.com

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