Unlike
modern Man, the prehistoric people of Europe did not use mind-altering
substances simply for their hedonistic pleasure. The use of alcohol and plant
drugs – such as opium poppies and hallucinogenic mushrooms – was highly
regulated and went hand-in-hand with the belief system and sacred burial
rituals of many preindustrial societies. Elisa Guerra-Doce of the Universidad
de Valladolid in Spain contends that their use was an integral part of
prehistoric beliefs, and that these substances were believed to aid in
communication with the spiritual world. Guerra-Doce’s research appears in
Springer’s Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.
Despite the
fact that the consumption of these substances is as ancient as human society
itself, it is only fairly recently that researchers have started to look into
the historical and cultural contexts in which mind-altering products were used
in Europe. To add to the body of literature about the anthropology of
intoxication in prehistoric European societies, Guerra-Doce systematically
documented the cultural significance of consuming inebriating substances in
these cultures.
In the
research, four different types of archaeological documents were examined: the
macrofossil remains of the leaves, fruits or seeds of psychoactive plants;
residues suggestive of alcoholic beverages; psychoactive alkaloids found in
archaeological artifacts and skeletal remains from prehistoric times; and
artistic depictions of mood-altering plant species and drinking scenes. These
remnants include bits of the opium poppy in the teeth of a male adult in a
Neolithic site in Spain, charred Cannabis seeds in bowls found in Romania,
traces of barley beer on several ceramic vessels recovered in Iberia, and
abstract designs in the Italian Alps that depict the ritual use of
hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Because
Guerra-Doce mainly found traces of sensory-altering products in tombs and
ceremonial places, she believes such substances are strongly linked to ritual
usage. They were consumed in order to alter the usual state of consciousness,
or even to achieve a trance state. The details of the rituals are still
unclear, but the hypothesis is that the substances were either used in the
course of mortuary rites, to provide sustenance for the deceased in their journey
into the afterlife, or as a kind of tribute to the underworld deities.
She adds
that the right to use such substances may have been highly regulated given that
they were a means to connect with the spirit world, and therefore played a
sacred role among prehistoric European societies.
“Far from
being consumed for hedonistic purposes, drug plants and alcoholic drinks had a
sacred role among prehistoric societies,” says Guerra-Doce. “It is not
surprising that most of the evidence derives from both elite burials and
restricted ceremonial sites, suggesting the possibility that the consumption of
mind-altering products was socially controlled in prehistoric Europe.”
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