Antiquity of the smoking habit in Africa

Abstract

In Africa, the smoking habit long preceded the arrival of tobacco. Various materials were smoked, of which cannabis was the most common. Archaeological finds include a possible bone cylinder pipe from Botswana at ca. A.D. 750, confirmed elbow pipes of fired clay from Zambia at ca. A.D. 1200, and confirmed water pipe bowls of fired clay at ca. A.D. 1400 from Ethiopia, which contained cannabis residue. Arab maritime traders probably introduced the habit to Africa in the 1st millennium A.D.