Highlights

•The paper presents the first evidence of Erythroxylum spp. in Europe in the 1600s.

•17th century brain tissue with active components of coca plant was found.

•Archaeotoxicology backdates Erythroxylum spp. use by almost two centuries in Europe.

Cocaine hydrochloride salts are one of the most commonly used drugs of our days, yet there is very little hard evidence regarding when people started consuming such an extensively popular drug in Europe. In this paper, we report the exceptional finding of Erythroxylum spp. in human remains dated to the 1600’s in Milan, Italy.