Traces of numerous psychoactive drugs were found in the shaman’s bag from 1,000 years ago

Since the dawn of timeow people around the world have used plant substances to alter the perception of the. These agents, according to the researchers, were most often used in religious or ritual contexts. Knowledge of indigenous peoplesoin South America on these specific plants and paraphernalia indicating their sposob use can tell us a lot about what ancient people knew about plants and ktore of them were important to them.

It turns out that a thousand years ago, the indigenous peoples of South America used a number of psychotropic plants, perhaps even combining them to induce hallucinations and alter the consciousness of the. This is indicated by discoveries in the Cueva del Chileno cave in Bolivia.

The research was published in „PNAS”.

Scientists have discovered a shaman’s ritual kit at an archaeological site in southeastern Bolivia’s Sora River Valley. They were looking for a traceoIn the existence of people in the local caves. SkoA thrown bag with accessories was found in the rubble of the structure, ktora may have served as a tomb.

– We already knew that psychotropic agents were important in the spiritual and religious activities of south-central And societiesoin, but we did not know that these people used so many rotiesoin and probably combined them with each other. This is the largest number of psychoactive substances ever found at a single archaeological site from South America – Said Jose Capriles, an anthropologist at Pennsylvannia State University.

Inside the bag, the researchers found m.In. smaller pouches made from fox snoutsoIn whichoothers found traces of middleoin psychotropic. There was also a wooden instrument used to grind plants into powder, wooden tubes used to smoke hallucinogenic substances, spatulas made of bone or a band of cloth.

Radiocarbon dating of the sk wrapoof the thrown bundle indicated that the find is about 1,000 years old. – This period at this site is associated with the breakup of the Tiwanaku (or Tiahuanaco) state – footnote. red.) and the emergence of regional centers ofoin power,” explained Capriles.

Researchers have scraped small amounts of material from smaller pouches made from skinsor lisow to see what substances they contained. For this they used a tandem mass spectrometer and liquid chromatography method. – These methods are highly sensitive and extremely effective in detecting the presence of small amounts of certain compoundsow of very small probek,” said Melanie Miller of the University of Otawo and the University of California, Berkeley, whoora was responsible for analyzing probek.

The analysis indicated the presence of many compoundsoin psychoactive substances from at least three rotional speciesoin the plant. Traces of cocaine, benzoylgonine (a majorow metabolite of cocaine), harmine (a psychedelic psychoactive substance), bufotenine (a psychoactive substance, found in the venom of someotoads, in plants and fungi), dimethyltryptamine (the mainowny component of the drink ayahuasca) and probably psilocin (a psychoactive compound found in someoritual mushrooms).

According to researchers, the bundle most likely belonged to a shaman. – Shamans were specialists in ritualsow. They were the ones who had knowledge about plants and how to use them as a mechanismow to contact the supernatural world, with venerable ancestors, o whichor which were thought to exist in other dimensions,” assessed Capriles. – It is possible that the shaman thatory was the owner of this bag, consumed many rotive plants simultaneously to induce rotive effects or prolong his hallucinations – added.

The shaman’s bag contained zarowno harmine as well as dimethyltryptamine, the two primary ingredients in the ayahuasca drink, ktory causes strong hallucinations. It is not known how widespread the use of ayahuasca was, or how long it was in use for. SomeoSome researchers believe ayahuasca has a relatively recent origin, while others say it may have been used for centuries or even millennia.

– It is likely that this shaman ingested both substances simultaneously. He may have prepared a nap from themoj, such as ayahuasca, or taking them in powder form, whichory contained these plants. This mixture suggests that ayahuasca may have been used to millennia-old – marked Capriles.

The finding indicates an impressive knowledge of plants and their properties. What’s more, these people have made a significant effort to obtain the meansoin psychotropic. – None of the unionoin psychoactive drugs, whichore we found did not come from plants growing in the area Andoin, indicating the presence of complex exchange networks or the deliberate subroThat specific individuals in the rosible regions to get these plants,” Miller stressed. – This discovery reminds us that humans in the past had extensive knowledge of these powerful plants and their potential uses – added.

Sourceosource: Science Alert, fot. Jose Capriles, Penn State. In the photo skothrown shaman’s bundle.