Scientists from Washington State University (WSU) analyzed the contents of 14 miniature Mayan ceramic containers to gain insight into civilizations’ drug use. The team found traces of a ‘non-tobacco’ plant known as Mexican marigold. The container was originally buried more than 1,000 years ago and also contains traces of dried and cured tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica.
According to the researchers, the marigold was mixed with ordinary tobacco to make smoking “more pleasant”, WSU said.
Anthropological postdoctoral fellow Mario Zimmermann, lead author of the study, said the research paves the way for future studies investigating other types of psychoactive and non-psychoactive plants consumed by Mayan civilization and other ancient societies. .
Dr Zimmerman said: “Although it has been established that tobacco was widely used in the Americas before and after contact, evidence of other plants used for medicinal or religious purposes has largely been unexplored.
“The analytical methods developed in collaboration between the Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Biological Chemistry give us the ability to investigate drug use in the ancient world like never before.
‘If you find something really interesting like an intact container, it gives you a sense of joy.
‘Normally you’re happy when you get a jade bead. There are literally many earthenware shards, but complete vessels are scarce and offer very interesting research potential. ”
Archaeologists first discovered the vessels in 2012 while digging on the outskirts of Mérida, Mexico.
However, the team was now able to more accurately locate what was inside, thanks to progress in the field.
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The researchers analyzed metabolomics – small molecules found in cells, biofluids, tissues or organisms – to discover the plants.
Previously, researchers could only identify ancient plans based on the detection of a limited number of biomarkers, such as nicotine, anabasine, cotinine and caffeine.
David Gang, a professor at WSU’s Institute for Biological Chemistry and co-author of the study, said: ‘The problem with this is that although the presence of a biomarker like nicotine tobacco has been smoked, it does not tell you what else not consumed or stored in the artifact.
“Our approach not only tells you, yes, you have found the plant you are interested in, but it can also tell you what is still being consumed.”
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The team is now in negotiations with several institutions in Mexico as they want to explore more areas to gain a better insight into Mayan drug use.
Another project they are currently working on is the investigation of organic residues preserved in the dental memorial plaque of ancient human remains, WSU said.
Shannon Tushingham, a professor of anthropology at WSU and co-author of the study, said: ‘We are expanding the boundaries in archeological science so that we can better investigate the deep time relationships that people have had with a wide variety. psychoactive plants, which have been (and still are) consumed by people around the world.
“There are many inventive ways in which humans manage, use, manipulate and prepare native plants and plant mixtures, and archaeologists are only beginning to scratch the surface of how old these practices were.”