But analysis of the chemical composition of hairs from an adult male and a one-year-old baby, both dating between 800 and 1200 A.D., revealed the presence of the hallucinogenic alkaloid harmine. While it is unlikely that the infant, buried with a snuffing tablet and a four points Tiwanaku hat, was a drug addict (the hallucinogen might have been passed through breastfeeding), the Tiwanaku man was most probably a regular sniffer. The adult male appeared to have suffered sniffing lesions near the nose and was buried with an elaborate snuffing kit. "Our identification of harmine in the hair of these two Azapa Valley mummies is a very important finding. The only plant in South America that contain harmine is the jungle vine Banisteriopsis caapi, also known as ayahuasca. But this plant does not grow in the Azapa valley," Ogalde said. The presence of harmine suggests the Tiwanaku travelled in search of exotic hallucinogens, and brought the Banisteriopsis vine from as far as the Amazon rainforest, some 300 miles away. "We think that Banisteriopsiswas not necessarily used as a hallucinogenic mixture, and perhaps was used in therapeutic practices. It is also possible that its consumption with snuffing kits was used as element of social differentiation," Ogalde said. Another study, also published this month in the Journal of Archaeological Science, confirmed South America's leading role in the history of mind-altering drugs. Analysis on ceramic snuffing tubes and inhaling bowls found on the Caribbean island of Carriacou in the West Indies, showed that the drug kits were not made using local materials. Scott Fitzpatrick, an archeologist from North Carolina State University, and colleagues dated them to prehistoric South American tribes, between 100 and 400 B.C. According to Fitzpatrick, the bowls not only shed new light on how long humans have been taking drugs, but are "the first physical evidence" to show that the people who colonized the Caribbean from South America brought their heirloom drug paraphernalia with them. Related Links: Treehugger: Could Magic Mushrooms Help Treat Cancer? |
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