New study finds Bronze Age folks tripping on psychedelics
According to the researchers, our Bronze Age ancestors were not just content with gathering berries and catching fish, but were actually indulging in some serious plant-based partying. That's right, they were consuming hallucinogens on the regular.
What
A new study has revealed that people living on the Spanish island of Menorca nearly 3,000 years ago were regularly consuming psychedelic drugs obtained from plants. Scientists have been able to confirm this after examining hair samples taken from a Bronze Age burial site. The findings represent the first confirmed evidence that ancient inhabitants of Spain's Balearic Island chain were using mind-altering substances.
The scientists used Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography and High-Resolution Mass Spectroscopy to test for a variety of chemicals in the hair strands, and found psychoactive ingredients in three of them. These included atropine and scopolamine, which come from nightshade plants, and ephedrine, a stimulant that can be extracted from a few species of pine trees and shrubs. The chemicals from the nightshade plants are known to induce hallucinations and alterations in perception, while ephedrine boosts energy levels and increases alertness.
On a spiritual trip
Now, it's well-known that these alkaloids can cause some seriously wild hallucinations and changes in perception, which is why the researchers suspect that our ancient ancestors were using them during religious ceremonies. Yes, they were tripping in the name of spirituality.
Based on their knowledge of the types of plants that would have been on the island of Menorca in 1000 BC, the researchers believe that people living there would have had no trouble finding sources for hallucinogens. They speculate that the plants or their extracts would have been consumed during rituals, specifically those organised by shamans who specialised in the exploration of altered states of mind.
Time capsules
But here's the kicker: the researchers also found wooden containers with concentric circles on them, which they think were meant to depict eyes. They believe that these containers were used as time capsules to preserve the record of certain cultural and metaphysical traditions that were abandoned almost three millennia ago.
The study was carried out by a group of scientists from Spain, led by Valladolid University professor of archaeology and prehistory Elisa Guerra Doce. The researchers used a combination of archaeology, anthropology, chemistry, pharmacology, ethnobotany, and iconography to trace back the human consumption of drug plants to prehistoric times in Eurasia, North America and South America.
The study's findings shed light on a long-standing tradition of human consumption of drug plants, which has been inferred from indirect evidence in the past. With the help of modern technology, however, it has now been possible to confirm the use of hallucinogens in ancient times.
So, it looks like our Bronze Age buddies were way ahead of their time when it came to exploring altered states of consciousness. Who knows what other wild and wonderful discoveries are waiting to be made in the ancient world? One thing's for sure - our ancestors definitely knew how to throw a decent rave.