🕰️ Wait, what’s the 5th Millennium BC?
Let’s get our timeline straight before we get lit with history.
The 5th millennium BC means about 7,000 years ago — that’s roughly 5000 to 4001 BC.
Think way before pyramids, before writing, even before beer brewing became a thing.
Humanity was chilling in the late Neolithic (New Stone Age), figuring out farming, pottery, and — you guessed it — hemp.
🧱 The Yangshao Culture: OG Hemp Crafters
Over in ancient China, in a region along the Yellow River, a culture called Yangshao was thriving.
Archaeologists discovered hemp-fiber imprints on pottery — meaning people were already twisting those fibers into cord and pressing them onto clay pots to decorate or strengthen them.
So while other civilizations were still perfecting their stone tools, China was already vibing with hemp.
It wasn’t being smoked yet (as far as we know), but it was being used for ropes, nets, and textiles.
Basically, hemp was the duct tape of the ancient world — strong, versatile, and everywhere.
💬 From Hemp to Mary Jane: A World of Slang
Fast-forward a few thousand years, and humanity started calling cannabis by every name under the sun. Here’s a sampler platter of the greatest hits — for cultural education, of course:
Classic Stoner Slang
🔥 Weed 💨 Pot 🌿 Ganja 🍃 Grass 🌸 Herb 💎 Bud 💀 Chronic 😇 Mary Jane 🚬 Dope
Retro & Vintage Terms
🎷 Tea (jazz-era lingo) 🍁 Wacky Tobaccy 🥬 The Devil’s Lettuce 🎩 Reefer 🌱 Locoweed
Global Nicknames
🌍 Bhang (India) Charas (India) Kif (Morocco) Dagga (South Africa) Mota (Mexico) Zaza (Modern slang)
Each name tells its own story — of migration, music, and meaning.
From ancient Yangshao hemp fields to modern cannabis dispensaries, it’s all one long smoke trail through human history.
🤯 Fun Stoner Takeaway
Next time someone sparks a joint and starts talking about “ancient wisdom,” you can drop this fact:
“Yo, people were already using hemp 7,000 years ago to decorate pottery. We’ve been crafting with cannabis since before the wheel existed.”
That’s right — the Yangshao hemp artists were ancestors of every modern stoner who’s ever admired the texture on their grinder lid or rolled a perfect joint.
From fiber to fire, cannabis has been in human hands since the dawn of civilization.
💡 Bonus Fun Fact
If you’ve ever wondered why “marijuana” has that spelling — blame early 1900s U.S. propaganda.
The term marihuana (with an “h”) was borrowed from Mexican Spanish and popularized in anti-cannabis campaigns to make the plant sound foreign and scary.
So technically, calling it hemp or cannabis is the OG historical flex.
🔗 Modern Packaging for an Ancient Plant
At MSN Packaging, we like to think we’re keeping that same creative spirit alive.
Our child-resistant, sustainable packaging keeps your products fresh, compliant, and stylish — while honoring the plant’s incredible history.
From hemp pottery to hemp packaging, we’ve come full circle.
Stay tuned for more Fun Facts and cannabis history bites right here on the MSN Packaging Blog.