There is evidence that tobacco existed in Central and South America before the discovery of the New World. It should be said that before Columbus arrived in Central and South America, so many people were found smoking tobacco. This is by no means a custom that can be formed overnight. The emergence of "scale" takes some time. Just as Shennong tasted herbs and then discovered tea, and then after centuries of trial planting, processing, and dissemination before it became a dietary fashion and accepted by consumers, the origin of tobacco must also be earlier than 1492. And that's exactly what happened. Take Central and South America, where Columbus discovered tobacco, for example. The origin of tobacco precedes Columbus's discovery by several centuries, or even more than ten centuries. In this regard, not only are there many opinions, but there are also many materials that can be used for verification. Here are just a few examples. One: Archaeologists discovered in the city of Polo in northern Arizona that in the cave where the Indians lived in 650 AD, there were wide tobacco leaves and pipes side by side, as well as leftover cigarette ashes. These relics were analyzed by color plates and spectrophotometers and were found to contain nicotine and were inferred to be leaves of N. Dttenudta. 2: Archaeologists also discovered a thin relief in a temple built in 432 AD in Parangcuo, Chiapas State, Mexico, showing a Mayan priest passing through during a ceremony. Relief of a pipe blowing smoke. In addition, there are many descriptions in relevant writings. American tobacco expert W. W. Ogarner, in his 1946 book "The Production of Tobacco", mentioned that tobacco was discovered in the New World in 1492 when he met the local Indians. People were smoking tobacco products, and they talked about finding many styles of stone pipes in the ancient tombs of American Indians, some of which were shaped like birds, some of which were like other animals and other unearthed items. In the book "Principles of Flue—Cured Tobacco" written in 1978 by American S. N. HaWKS, when talking about the origin of tobacco, he said: "In BC, tobacco was already available in Central and South America. In Palengue, Mexico, there is a picture of an old man smoking, which is carved in the chapel of this place. This picture was carved around the 5th century AD, which can prove that Mexico has a long history of tobacco cultivation. The book "Tobacco and the Americans" written by Rober-rtk. Hel-mann contains many narratives about tobacco, records of unearthed cultural relics, and pictures of the ancient use of tobacco products by Indians. He also affirmed that tobacco originated in Central and South America. The origin of tobacco is recorded in the 5th century AD. Among the cultural relics unearthed in Mexico, Chile and other countries, there are various smoking tools. Some pipes are engraved with beautiful patterns, while others are engraved with human body shapes, etc. Wolfe's book "Oriental Smoke" also recorded: "In 432 AD, in the state of Chlapas, Mexico, there was a picture of Mayan priests playing smoking with pipes, which was decorated in the auditorium. The cross indicates that the smoke from this tube can be blown to any corner of the earth. "This also shows that tobacco has been cultivated and used in Mexico for a long time, and it may also be one of its origin areas." The book "Agronomic Plant Sources" was written by A. De-candolle in 1882 (has been translated into Chinese ), when studying the origin of tobacco, the book mentioned: When Europeans discovered America, the customs of smoking, snuff and chewing tobacco had spread throughout the New World... Looking at the situation, its origin has been very long, and it is now in Mexico In the tombs of the Aztecs and ancient tombs in the United States, many pipes were found with extremely fine carvings, and their patterns were animal-shaped... Some foreign scholars even confirmed that the birthplace of tobacco was in Central and South America. , denying that the origin of tobacco is in the Old World and denying that it is in China. For example, the book "Research on the Origin of Agricultural Plants" says: "Botanists believe that tobacco originated in the Old World, which is really a big mistake..." In addition, In 1926, the German WllnelmWagner wrote "Chinese Agricultural Books" (Translated into Chinese). In his discussion of the history of tobacco, he talked about China's agricultural books in the first half of the 17th century (i.e., the late Ming Dynasty). When the tobacco plant was mentioned for the first time, the Chinese called it Tobakoflanze, which means smoke-producing plant. It can be seen that it is not something that existed in ancient China. The above can explain that the appearance of tobacco in Central and South America was around the fifth century, not the fifteenth century. century.