The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, focus on strands of hair found in the cave Es Càrritx, on the southwest side of the Spanish island of Menorca. The cave contains more than 200 human graves and is said to have been used for rituals for about 600 years, until the year 800 BC.
The hair found there, according to the scientists, shows that the ancient human civilization used drugs that came from plants. The drugs are believed to have caused delirium and hallucinations and may have been used as part of cave rituals. This may have involved shamans “who were able to control the side effects of the plant drugs.”
Three psychoactive substances were discovered in the hair. In addition to atropine and scopolamine, which cause hallucinations, the scientists also found ephedrine, which increases energy and alertness.
This study would therefore now contain the oldest direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use in Europe. Previous claims for prehistoric drug use in Europe were based on circumstantial evidence, such as the artistic depiction of drug plants by ancient civilizations.
LOOK. Take a look inside a ‘legal’ cannabis plantation in Germany.