Traces of drugs were found on human hair in a cave on the Spanish island of Menorca. According to the scientists, the means are made from plants and shrubs. The drugs caused, among other things, hallucinations.
The resources may have been part of rituals that people performed in the cave. Who knows, according to the researchers, shamans were also involved, who were able to control the effects of the plants.
About two hundred people are also buried in the cave. The location was probably used in the Bronze Age as a burial place and a place where rituals took place. This probably happened for about six hundred years, until the year 800 BC.
Hairs were in decorated jars
The researchers found traces of at least three stimulant substances on the red-dyed hair strands. Two of them are atropine and scopolamine, both of which will make you hallucinate. The third drug is ephedrine, which makes you more energetic and alert.
The hairs were in jars, the lids of which were decorated with spiral motifs. According to some of the researchers, the patterns must represent the state of consciousness of people who were under the influence at the time.
The suspicion that our prehistoric ancestors used drugs has long existed among historians. For example, drawings have been found in Europe depicting drug plants. Traces of opium have also been found in Bronze Age pots.
