Sources of tobacco

Archaeological studies have found that tobacco originated in the Americas. There are reliefs of Mayans smoking with pipes in Maya temples in Mexico, which can confirm that tobacco originated in the Americas as early as the Americas; in caves where Indians lived, surplus tobacco and tobacco leaves were found, and Indians often smoked during celebrations or sacrifices; after being discovered in the New World, tobacco gradually spread to Europe and then spread around the world. Especially in the 1950s, after the global epidemic of tobacco, the incidence of lung cancer increased significantly.

According to the National Social Science Foundation's major project "Research on the History of Civilization in the Genealogy of Western Historiography", Indians living in the Americas have long known about tobacco in their production life. When collecting food, the Indian unconsciously plucked a plant leaf (tobacco leaf) and chewed it in his mouth, and found that he had a strong irritation, which could play a role in restoring physical strength and refreshing energy, so he often picked it and chewed it. Over time, chewing tobacco leaves became a hobby. Since then, tobacco has entered the lives of American Indians. American Indians regard tobacco as a "sacred grass", and there are many magical legends about the origin of tobacco, such as the theory of love and friendship, the birth of gods, the creation of the land and the gift of gods. According to legend, tobacco is the source and pillar of life for the Grow Indians of North America, who not only believe that tobacco is a gift from the gods, but also closely associate the origin of the Crow people with tobacco. It is thought that the earliest evidence of human tobacco use to date is a relief at the entrance to the Temple of the Cross in Palenque, Mexico, depicting an elderly Mayan man with a pipe on his parched lips. Archaeologists have confirmed that the building, located in the jungles of Chiapas in southern Mexico, was built on March 12, 432 AD, when the Mayan chronology was very close to the way we modern people record time on a daily basis. This representative line relief reflects the Maya's use of tobacco in a certain ritual. The Habit of Smoking in the Americas derives from the practice of burning incense in religious and secular ceremonies. When a shaman makes a fire, he often uses the leaves of burned aromatic plants, including tobacco, blowing on the burned ashes, and then inhaling the smoke, which feels pleasant. It is from this primitive way of sniffing that the three main ways of smoking are formed – pipes, cigars and cigarettes. Tobacco is not only widespread in the Americas, but also heavily used in North America.