Caveman Used Drugs and Alcohol in Burial Rituals: Study

Prehistoric man used drugs and alcohol for ritualistic reasons, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Valladolid in Spain discovered that the intake of drugs and alcohol is not a recent trend followed by the modern man. In fact, our ancestors occasionally indulged in smoking and drinking mind-altering substances like opium poppies and alcoholic beverages while performing scared burial rituals and other spiritual practices.

Experts looked at four different Neolithic sites and examined the pictorial images of worship, fossils of leaf, seeds, fruits and psychoactive alkaloids in skeletal fragments and left over parts of vessels and utensils.  They found traces of opium poppy in the teeth of an adult male body in Spain, roasted seeds cannabis in bowls in Romania, barley beer in ceramic vessels in Iberia and abstract art suggesting the ritualistic use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Italian Alps. Furthermore, the researchers identified mild traces of these substances in tombs and burial places indicating the pre-historic man gave them as an offering to the deceased for their journey into after life.  

The substances were taken in moderation to attain a trance-like state and even connect with the spirit world as a part of rites in the prehistoric period.

"Far from being consumed for hedonistic purposes, drug plants and alcoholic drinks had a sacred role among prehistoric societies," said Elisa Guerra-Doce, study author and researcher at the University of Valladolid in a news release.

"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."

More information is available online in the journal of Archeological Method and Theory.