- Title: RAW VIDEO: Earliest Known Psychedelic Drug Pipes Discovered In Andes 2/3
- Date: 14th May 2025
- Description:Credit: Dan Contereras/John Rick/Cover Images Archaeologists have found the earliest evidence of humans smoking psychedelic drugs in the Peruvian Andes. Around 2,000 years before the Inca empire dominated the Andes, a lesser-known society known as the Chavín Phenomenon ruled what is now modern-day Peru. A new study that uncovered the earliest-known direct evidence of the use of psychoactive plants in the Peruvian Andes. A team of archaeologists from the University of Florida, Stanford University and South American institutions discovered ancient snuff tubes carved from hollow bones at the heart of monumental stone structures at Chavín de Huántar, a prehistoric ceremonial site in the mountains Peru. By conducting chemical and microscopic analyses of the snuff tubes, the researchers revealed traces of nicotine from wild relatives of tobacco and vilca bean residue, a hallucinogen related to DMT. The leaders, it seems, wielded these substances not just for personal visions but to reinforce their authority. Leaders even had their own private drug dens to smoke their pipes in. Unlike communal hallucinogenic use common in other ancient cultures, Chavín’s rituals were exclusive. Archaeologists discovered the snuff tubes in private chambers within massive stone structures that held only a handful of participants at a time, creating an air of mystique and control. “Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions. It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy,” said Daniel Contreras, Ph.D., an anthropological archaeologist at UF and co-author of the new study that revealed these rituals at Chavín. These experiences were likely profound, even terrifying. To those who inhaled, the supernatural might have felt like a force beyond comprehension. And that was precisely the point. By controlling access to these altered states, Chavín’s rulers established a potent ideology and convinced their people that their leadership was intertwined with mystical power and part of the natural order. “The supernatural world isn’t necessarily friendly, but it’s powerful,” Contreras said. “These rituals, often enhanced by psychoactives, were compelling, transformative experiences that reinforced belief systems and social structures.” Contreras has spent nearly thirty years studying the site as part of a team led by John Rick, Ph.D, professor emeritus at Stanford University. The team argue that these ceremonies were pivotal in shaping early class structures. Those rituals extended beyond the use of psychedelics. Archaeologists have also uncovered trumpets made from conch shells and chambers seemingly designed to enhance the awe-inducing musical performances. Their study was published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings help solve a century-old mystery about this site, located at an elevation of 10,000 feet. Since its first excavation over a hundred years ago, Chavín has been seen as related to both earlier, more egalitarian societies and the mountain-spanning empires ruled by powerful elites that came later. Controlled access to mystical experiences helps explain this major social transition, a finding only made possible by decades of intense excavations and advanced analytical methods. “It’s exciting that ongoing excavations can be combined with cutting-edge archaeological science techniques to get us closer to understanding what it was like to live at this site,” Contreras said.
- Collection: Cover Media
- Genre:Entertainment
- Producer:Cover Media
- Transmission Date:14/05/2025
- Decade: 2020s