ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Cannabis: Time‑Mapped – the Rise and Fall

A ten‑minute visual journey tracing cannabis from its earliest Asian origins, through classical and medieval empires, to modern regulation.

Chapters

0:07 Origins in East Asia
1:52 Spread to the Classical World
3:19 Cannabis in the Medieval Empires
4:46 Modern Regulation and Decline

On-screen text

0:07 Origins in East Asia
0:14 Origins in East Asia
0:31 Shennong Bencao: cannabis as medicine Historical record · Shennong Bencao Jing (c. 1st century BCE, China)
0:49 Mawangdui: cannabis for constipation Historical record · Mawangdui Silk Texts (2nd century BCE, China)
1:07 Çatalhöyük: early hemp fibers Historical record · Çatalhöyük Neolithic site (Turkey, 7500 BCE)
1:25 Jōmon graves contain cannabis seeds Historical record · Jōmon shell‑mound site (Japan, 3000 BCE)
1:43 Yangtze pollen spike 5 k BCE The Institute's interpretation · Pollen analysis of Yangtze River sediments (Nature, 2005)
1:52 Spread to the Classical World
1:59 Spread to the Classical World
2:16 Ebers Papyrus: cannabis remedy Historical record · Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE, Egypt)
2:34 Dioscorides on cannabis fibers Historical record · De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (1st century CE, Roman Empire)
2:52 Pliny: Thracian hemp cultivation Historical record · Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77 CE, Rome)
3:10 Mongols use cannabis for horses Historical record · The Secret History of the Mongols (13th century)
3:19 Cannabis in the Medieval Empires
3:26 Cannabis in the Medieval Empires
3:43 Tang materia: cannabis seed Historical record · Tang Materia Medica (8th century CE, China)
4:01 Ain‑i‑Akbari: bhang consumption Historical record · Ain‑i‑Akbari (1590, Mughal India)
4:19 1820 Bengal: hemp dominates agriculture Historical record · British East India Company report, Bengal (1820)
4:37 Edo Osaka: hemp cloth tax Historical record · Osaka municipal records, Edo period (1650)
4:46 Modern Regulation and Decline
4:53 Lindow Moss burial, c.2100 BCE Historical record · Lindow Moss Bronze Age burial, England (c. 2100 BCE)
5:08 1925 treaty controls cannabis Historical record · International Opium Convention (1925)
5:31 1937 Hemp Tax Act Historical record · U.S. Hemp Tax Act (Marihuana Tax Act) of 1937
6:29 What if regulation had differed?

Sources

Historical record: Shennong Bencao Jing (c. 1st century BCE, China) · Mawangdui Silk Texts (2nd century BCE, China) · Çatalhöyük Neolithic site (Turkey, 7500 BCE) · Jōmon shell‑mound site (Japan, 3000 BCE) · Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE, Egypt) · De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (1st century CE, Roman Empire) · Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77 CE, Rome) · The Secret History of the Mongols (13th century) · Tang Materia Medica (8th century CE, China) · Ain‑i‑Akbari (1590, Mughal India) · British East India Company report, Bengal (1820) · Osaka municipal records, Edo period (1650) · Lindow Moss Bronze Age burial, England (c. 2100 BCE) · International Opium Convention (1925) · U.S. Hemp Tax Act (Marihuana Tax Act) of 1937

The Institute's interpretation: Pollen analysis of Yangtze River sediments (Nature, 2005)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 101 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (5) — the next things to make

Ethereal spirits of hemp plants drift over the ruins, translucent leaves glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Inside the sealed warehouse, barrels marked with warning symbols sit under dim fluorescent light, dust motes floating.
A courtroom with a judge's gavel, stacks of legal documents titled 'Regulation', solemn faces of jurors in shadow.
A simple white card appears with the question: 'What if regulation had differed?' centered on the screen.
Evening protest, diverse crowd holds signs with stylized hemp leaves, lanterns flicker, voices raised in unison.