> The researchers identified the presence of multiple psychoactive compounds—cocaine, benzoylecgonine (the primary metabolite of cocaine), harmine, bufotenin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and possibly psilocin (a compound found in some mushrooms)
Maybe. But did the user of this have to deal with similar levels of noise and of density of people (never been to Burning Man btw)?
My "experience" has mostly been around quiet areas or with a friend in a room/home. The heart already gets a race just doing nothing, being in a dense communal environment sounds hellish on such substances.
Regarding the objects, a triple fox-snout pouch stash bag[0] is quite an item. Why the snout? Implications of sensitivity and a conveniently pre-angled form? Why the fox? According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxes_in_popular_culture#Ameri... at least one South American society believed the fox to be a warrior that would use his mind to fight. The fox would not ever use physical attack, only mental. Potentially a sort of a professional deity of a shamanic class, then.
Lovely iconography on the wooden utensil[1] with a pair of people in comfortable looking robes and differing posture. Could this be suggestive of paired consumption or a guided experience? Could the void-like gap for face indicate ideas associated with possession or channeling, eg. a symbolic "not-self" or implication of self-departure? In the absence of additional finds, I suppose surviving modern shamanistic rites of the region might only provide minimal evidence toward a tenuous interpretation.
The utensil definitely gives the impression of two figures dressed in robes, clutching each other by the arm, while sitting together, in front of a fire.
I think it's a little much to imbue deeper meaning upon representational qualities of the sculptural detail or lack thereof.
One cannot know the rational basis for stylistic choices made during the crafting of the object, unless there's deeper context lent by other facts.
It could simply be limitations of the medium, such as durability of fine detail balanced against practical daily use. Hence why the hands and feet also lack realistic detail.
Or it could simply be a limitation of the carving skills of the owner. Maybe they simply weren't very proud of the faces, hands and feet they've attempted on other objects. It's a common progression that after the skill of posed stick figures develops, then eventually hands, feet and faces develop more slowly. Usually all parts of faces (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, then whole proportions) develop first, in a generalizable, idealized form. Then hands (gestural and used in combination with facial expression), and recognizable facial resemblance and unique identity. Feet last.
I'm not sure on its academic validity, but Hallucinogens and Culture by Peter T. Furst is an interesting look into the use of hallucinogens by different peoples around the world and the role of these plants in forming our religions and cultures.
Thanks for the link. This is a topic I've always loved mainly because it seems so plainly obvious to me that there is a link between either accidental or unwitting consumption of psychotropic substances and the birth of religion(s) specifically.
Not sure, but I recently came across a book called Blue Tide: The Search for Soma by Mike Jay that you might find interesting if you want to learn more about the subject. Its on my list but I havent got to it yet.
I wonder how this chemical compounds have survived for 1000 years without disintegrating. Are those molecules so stable to survive 1000 years against microorganisn activity?
A simpler explanation would be that this skin was recycled and used in much more recent times. The ritual skin bag can be old, but the substances around can be more modern.
It's an interesting find, probably confirms what I think would be a default theory: the ritual use of psychoactives in modern south america is a continuation from ancient times.
What they found is:
(1) Cocaine & benzoylecgonine (also from coca) (2) harmine & dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which are combined to make ayahuasca, still commonly used ritually in SA even by some catholic communities. (3) bufotenin (frog smoking stuff), which still exists ritually to an extent and (4) possibly psilocin (magic mushrooms).
So basically, if you were to find a bag of ritual psychodelics in SA today, it would have all these same things in it. The only thing missing is tobacco. Maybe the snuff kit is for tobacco, or maybe the article omitted it. Also, I don't think these are all found in the same regions, so it's also probably evidence of trade. Drugs can be major trade goods.
Most of how we see the ancient world is dictated by monuments, tools and other stuff that survives well. Bits of perishable culture like this give us a whole different layer.
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[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 56.5 ms ] threadSo basically your average burning man tent.
>So basically your average burning man tent
Maybe. But did the user of this have to deal with similar levels of noise and of density of people (never been to Burning Man btw)?
My "experience" has mostly been around quiet areas or with a friend in a room/home. The heart already gets a race just doing nothing, being in a dense communal environment sounds hellish on such substances.
Lovely iconography on the wooden utensil[1] with a pair of people in comfortable looking robes and differing posture. Could this be suggestive of paired consumption or a guided experience? Could the void-like gap for face indicate ideas associated with possession or channeling, eg. a symbolic "not-self" or implication of self-departure? In the absence of additional finds, I suppose surviving modern shamanistic rites of the region might only provide minimal evidence toward a tenuous interpretation.
[0] https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hire... [1] https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hire...
I think it's a little much to imbue deeper meaning upon representational qualities of the sculptural detail or lack thereof.
One cannot know the rational basis for stylistic choices made during the crafting of the object, unless there's deeper context lent by other facts.
It could simply be limitations of the medium, such as durability of fine detail balanced against practical daily use. Hence why the hands and feet also lack realistic detail.
Or it could simply be a limitation of the carving skills of the owner. Maybe they simply weren't very proud of the faces, hands and feet they've attempted on other objects. It's a common progression that after the skill of posed stick figures develops, then eventually hands, feet and faces develop more slowly. Usually all parts of faces (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, then whole proportions) develop first, in a generalizable, idealized form. Then hands (gestural and used in combination with facial expression), and recognizable facial resemblance and unique identity. Feet last.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_(1990_film)#Sunshine_Th...
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_identity_of_soma%E...
A simpler explanation would be that this skin was recycled and used in much more recent times. The ritual skin bag can be old, but the substances around can be more modern.
What they found is: (1) Cocaine & benzoylecgonine (also from coca) (2) harmine & dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which are combined to make ayahuasca, still commonly used ritually in SA even by some catholic communities. (3) bufotenin (frog smoking stuff), which still exists ritually to an extent and (4) possibly psilocin (magic mushrooms).
So basically, if you were to find a bag of ritual psychodelics in SA today, it would have all these same things in it. The only thing missing is tobacco. Maybe the snuff kit is for tobacco, or maybe the article omitted it. Also, I don't think these are all found in the same regions, so it's also probably evidence of trade. Drugs can be major trade goods.
Most of how we see the ancient world is dictated by monuments, tools and other stuff that survives well. Bits of perishable culture like this give us a whole different layer.