Fun fact! The earliest evidence of yerba maté usage was the remnants of carbonized yerba maté leaves in a pipe found in Catamarca in Northwestern Argentina alongside carbonized leaves of coca, lemon verbena, and tobacco that were dated to 650 BCE–500 CE. Click to read more!
The earliest evidence of yerba maté usage was the remnants of carbonized yerba maté leaves in a pipe found in Catamarca in Northwestern Argentina alongside carbonized leaves of coca, lemon verbena, and tobacco that were dated to 650 BCE–500 CE. The administration of yerba maté by inhalation was also reported in ethnographic literature among the Tehuelche people of Patagonia.
Source: http://herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/129/table-of-contents/hg129-herbprofile-yerba/