A group of scientists identified by the first presence of a plant that is not tobacco in ancient antiquities with medicinal substances that usaron the mayas.
Investigators from the Washington State University of Detective mexican calendar (Tagetes lucida) in residual tomados of 14 miniature ceramic warehouses.
Originally entered more than 1,000 years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, the recipients also contain traces of chemicals present in these types of cured and dried tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum y N. rustica.
Investigators from the Washington State University detect the Mexican calendula (Tagetes lucida). Photo: Wikipedia
The research team, led by the postdoctoral fellow in anthropology at Washington State University Mario Zimmermann, creates that the mexican calendar is mixed with the tobacco to make more pleasant smoking.
The discovery of the contents of the vases burns a clearer image of the practice practices of medicinal substances of the ancient antiquities. The investigation, which was published in Scientific reports, también allana el camino para futuros studios que investiguen other types of psychoactive plants and non-psychoactive plants that smoke, masticate or inhale between mayas and other precolombinant societies.
“While it has been established that tobacco is used only in all antiquities and after contact with the United States, there is evidence of other plants being used for medicinal purposes or religious purposes in large parts without exploration,” Zimmermann said in a statement. And details: “The methods of analysis developed in collaboration between the Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Biological Chemistry us and the capacity of examined the use of drugs in the ancient world as never before“.
A new method
Zimmermann’s work and his colleagues’s possible with a new method of analysis based on the metabolomics which can detect miles of vegetable compounds or metabolites in collected residues from containers, tubers, cucumbers and other archeological artefacts. In fact, composts can be used to identify which plants are being consumed.
One of the miniature ceramic ceramics vases will find the remains of the medicinal substances. Photo: WSU
Previously, the identification of antique plant residues was based on the detection of a limited number of biomarkets, such as nicotine, anabasine, cotinine and caffeine.
“The problem with this is that if the presence of a biomarker like the nicotine sample that smokes tobacco is not enough to say that alcohol consumption is more important in the artifact”, said David Gang, professor at the Institute of Biological Chemistry at WSU and employee of the studio. “Nuestro enfoque no solo le dice, sí, que encontra la plant et le interestes, sino que también puede decirle qué mas se staba consumi”.
Zimmermann helps to decenter the doses ceremonial vases which will be used for the analysis in the beginning of 2012. At the moment, I am working on an excavation conducted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico in the aforementioned Merida, gave a contracted discovery evidence of an archeological site maya limpiaba tierras for a new complex of livelihoods.
Zimmermann and a team of archaeologists use GPS teams to divide the area into a quadrilateral similar to a calendar. Luego opens a truck through the dense jungle in the bushes of mountainous peaks and other signs revealing ancient edifices where to find the remains of important people like them chamanes.
The team of archaeologists working in Mexico. Photo: WSU
“When we find something really interesting like a recipient intact, we have a sensation of allegory”, says Zimmermann. “Normally, we would like to find a jade account. It literally shows ceramics tests, but The vases are complete with scissors and offer a great deal of interesting research“.
Zimmermann notes that the research team is currently negotiating with various institutions in Mexico to obtain access to more ancient containers from the region that can be analyzed for vegetative residues.
Another project that is currently underway is to search for organic residues preserved in the dental plaque of ancient human remains.
Europa Press.
