Before its discovery by the Europeans and the rest of the world, Tobacco had been well known in the Americas for centuries, being a vital part of social and spiritual life for numerous native peoples throughout distance and time. Thought to have originated in northern South America since at least 6000 BCE, by 1 BCE indigenous peoples were employing tobacco in ritual and medicine. The word itself originates from the Taíno "Tobago"; it is unclear whether it was a roll of tobacco leaves intended for smoking, nowadays called cigar, or a small V-shaped cane tube used to administer snuff; not the plant itself, or its leaves.