Cannabis has its in central Asia and there indications from archaeology that it was used deep in the Ice Age for fiber. Cannabis was certainly being used as the first fiber at the dawn of the Neolithic Revolution and it was likely around in all the ancient civilizations, China, India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia from their starts 5000 years ago. Hemp (cannabis sativa) grows in northern latitudes like China and Europe while the drug types (cannabis indica) grew in the south like India, Egypt, and Africa.

There is lots of evidence of hemp fibers being used in neolithic China from grave sites. Cannabis appears in all the first medical texts, but it is hard to know how common the drugs were. The fibers were very common and important in the ancient world because they are the longest and strongest natural fibers and were needed for ropes, canvas, and shipbuilding. This was true continuously from the Neolithic Revolution until the Industrial Revolution when hemp fibers were replaced by a variety of modern materials like steel threads, synthetic fibers, and alternative imported fibers.