A fascinating new find from Morocco is set to change how we view ancient medicinal practices and the history of human medicine. Proof of medicinal herb usage has been gleaned from the Grotte des Pigeons Cave in Tafoughalt, going back 15,000 years! Subject of a new study, the researchers indicate that ancient inhabitants in the area likely used plants and herbs like Ephedra, used popularly in traditional Chinese medicine for asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, and colds. Medicinal Mint Decoded: Scientists Learn Ancient Secrets of Chinese Skullcap Mint Ancient Medicinal Knowledge of Amazon Tribes to Be Recorded in Writing for First Time in History Ephedra: The Magic Cure for Traditional Medicine The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, analyzed exceptionally preserved macrofossils found in this northeast Moroccan cave in archaeological layers from the Late Pleistocene (roughly 130,000 years ago – 11,700 years ago). Incidentally, this site, discovered for the first time in 1908, is North Africa’s oldest cemetery, home to at least 34 Iberomaurusian skeletons from the later Stone Age. Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryAncient TraditionsRead Later