Ancient Psychoactive Substances

Scott M. Fitzpatrick, professor of archaeology at the University of Oregon, is coeditor of Island Shores, Distant Pasts: Archaeological and Biological Approaches to the Pre-Columbian Settlement of the Caribbean.

• List of figuresList of TableAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Drugs from a Deep Time Perspective. Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Mark D. MerlinChapter 1. Cannabis in Ancient Central Eurasian Burials. Mark D. Merlin and Robert C. ClarkChapter 2. Intoxication on the Wine Dark Sea: Investigating Psychoactive Substances in the Eastern Mediterranean. Zuzana ChovanecChapter 3. Ancient Use of Ephedra in the Eurasia and the Western Hemisphere. Mark D. MerlinChapter 4. Prehistoric Intoxicants of North America. Sean M. RaffertyChapter 5. Pipes, Cups, Platform Mounds, and Mortuary Ritual in the Lake Okeechobee Basin of South Florida. Victor D. Thompson and Thomas J. PluckhahnChapter 6. Power from, Power to, Power over? Ritual drug-taking and the social context of power among the indigenous people of the Caribbean. Quetta KayeChapter 7. Intoxication Rituals and Gender among the Ancient Maya. Daniel M. SeinfeldChapter 8. Mayan Ritual Beverage Production: Considering the Ceramics. Jennifer Loughmiller-CardinalChapter 9. The Origins of the Ayahuasca/Yagé Concept (An inquiry into the synergy between DMT and β Carbolines. Constantino Manuel TorresChapter 10. A Synonym for Sacred: Vilca use in the Pre-Conquest Andes. Matthew P. SayreChapter 11. Ingredients Matter: Maize versus molle brewing in ancient Andes feasting. Justin Jennings and Lidio M. ValdezContributorsIndex

A well-founded and presented description of the integral role that psychoactive substances played in ancient societies. . . . A unique addition to ancient history collections." - Choice"Very informative, well referenced, and well illustrated." - Latin American Antiquity"This well-researched and fascinating volume not only demonstrates the important cultural role of psychoactive substances in ancient societies but also points the way to an emerging research field. The unveiling of the past history of drug use becomes a lesson for present-day society." - Jan G. Bruhn, founding editor, Journal of Ethnopharmacology"Presents a broad overview of drug plants and fermented beverages by using anthropological, ethnological, archaeological, iconographic, chemical, and botanical approaches. Essential reading." - Elisa Guerra Doce, author of Drugs in Prehistory: Archaeological Evidence of the Use of Psychoactive Substances in Europe