Archaeological Evidence for the Tradition of Psychoactive Plant Use in the Old World Author(S): M

Archaeological Evidence for the Tradition of Psychoactive Plant Use in the Old World Author(s): M. D. Merlin Source: Economic Botany, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 295-323 Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4256701 . Accessed: 23/08/2013 23:01

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This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE TRADITION OF PSYCHOACTIVE PLANT USE IN THE OLD WORLD

M. D. MERLIN UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I AT MANOA, HONOLULU, HI 96822

We live in an age when a divine vision is terialshave been predominantlydictated by spir- dismissed as an hallucination,and desire to ex- itual and/ormedicinal requirements. On the oth- perience a direct communicationwith god is of- er hand, contemporary,modem use in various ten interpretedas a sign of mental illness. Nev- societies, especially in those areas affected by ertheless, some scholarsand scientists assertthat Western Civilization, is often inspired by per- such visions and communicationsare fundamen- sonal "recreational"desires to experience eu- tally derived from an ancient and ongoing cul- phoria,and frequentlyis impelled by peer group tural tradition. The hypothesis presented here pressure. suggests that humans have a very ancient tra- An early relationship between humans and dition involving the use of mind-alteringexpe- psychoactive plants, often within a highly ritu- riences to produce profound,more or less spir- alized, ceremonial context has been suggested itual and culturalunderstanding. by a numberof authors(Allegro 1970; Emboden A cross-culturalsurvey of "relevant ethno- 1979; Furst 1972; Goodman et al. 1995; La graphicliterature" involving 488 societies in the Barre 1970, 1972, 1980; Schultes et al. 2002; 1970s indicated that 90% (437) of these groups Sherratt 1991, 1995b; Wasson 1968; Wilbert "institutionalized,culturally patterned forms an 1972; Wohlberg 1990). A number of these au- altered state of consciousness." The highest thors believe this kind of use of consciousness- rates (97%) were among the societies of "ab- alteringplants providedthe inspirationfor initial original North America" and the lowest (80%) humanreligious experiences,even perhapsthree in the "Circum-Mediteffaneanregion," which of the world's largest religions, Hinduism(Was- includes "North Africa, the Near East, and son 1968), Judaism(Dure 2001; Merkur2000), southernand westernEurope as well as overseas and Christianity (Allegro 1970; Ruck et al. Europeans" (Bourguignon 1973). A large per- 2001). Althoughthis hypothesisand some of the centage of these altered states are produced specific case studies (e.g., Allegro 1970) have throughconsumption of psychoactivedrug plant been widely dismissed as erroneous,others con- substances, supporting the idea that ".... the tinue to call attentionto the importanceof psy- ubiquity of mind-alteringagents in traditional choactive drug plant use by humans and the or- societies cannot be doubted-just as the moods igin of spiritualconcepts (e.g., Smith 2000, also of industrial societies are set by a balance of see Rudgley 1994, 1998, and Roberts2001). For caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, among many oth- example, according to some classical scholars, ers" (Sherratt1995a; Fig. 1). Christianityevolved within the milieu of Judaic Traditionally,the use of the great majorityof and Hellenistic healing cults, magic, and the mind-alteringdrug plants has been strongly as- Mystery initiations:"All four of these inevitably sociated with ritual and/orreligious activity; in- imply a sacred ethnopharmacology,with tradi- deed, ritualized consumption in various forms, tions going back to earlier ages of the ancient may be unequivocally religious, "as in the world" (see Ruck et al. 2001). ChristianEucharist or the complex wine-offer- This relationship with mind-alteringorgan- ings to the ancestorsin the elaboratebronze ves- isms is very old. It may have even originated sels of Shang and Zhou dynast China" (Sherratt before the evolution of our own genus, but more 1995b). Customary, or pre-industrial,motiva- probably within the temporal span of our own tions for ingestion of psychoactive organic ma- species well back into the Pleistocene.

Economic Botany 57(3) pp. 295-323. 2003 ? 2003 by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.

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pre-industrialcontexts, have been "culturally programmed"to find plants (or fungi) that allow them to communicatewith the ancestors(or their spirit world). He suggested that this tradition goes back into the Paleolithic Era, long before the invention of agriculturewhen people were all hunters and gatherers.According to his thesis, as bands of humans spreadout into new regions, including new ecological situations,they carried with them a culturally inspired motiva- tion to find and use species of plants or fungi that would allow them to transcendtheir "nor- mal" consciousness and enable them to com- municate with their ancestors or gods-in es- sence, their spirit world. The archaeologicaland paleobotanicalrecords offer evidence for these assertions,albeit some- what fragmentarynow. However, with the pow- erful tools of modem science and human imag- ination, our understandingof our deep-rooted desire to experience ecstasy in the original sense of the word (to break the mind free from the body and communicatewith the "gods" or the ancestors)will become clear with time. This review, utilizing archaeology and paleobotany, with its varying time depths in differentregions, documents the antiquity of a very widespread Fig. 1. Semi-wild opium poppy, Papaver somnifer- Urn. tradition of human association with psychoactive species of plants and fungi in the Old World, particularlyEurasia. In a 1970 journal article in Economic Botany In modem societies, psychoactive materials (24: 73-80), the ethnobotanist Richard Evans are used in a variety of ways. These include re- Schultes asked the anthropologist Weston La ligious, medical, and secular applications,which Barre a question concerning the known distri- in ancient times may or may not have been bution of traditionalpsychoactive drug plant use viewed as separate.For example, in the case of in the Old and New Worlds. Schultes wanted to Neolithic Europe, Sherratt (1991) argued that know why there are so few known psychoactive psychoactive ("narcotic") substanceswere con- drug plants associated with traditionalcultural sumed in a ritualisticcontext: "Such 'religious' use in the Old World. He pointed out that al- uses would no doubt have included 'medicinal' though there is much more ecological diversity uses as well, since it would be artificialto sep- and a much longer history of human occupation arate physical healing from ritual observance." in the Old World, the New World has many However, Sherratt(1995b) also suggested "that more of these known culturally-associated evidence for the employmentof substancessuch "plants of the gods." as opium or cannabisat varioustimes in the past La Barre argued that there must have been should not immediately be interpretedas an in- numerous other species that were used in the dication either of profoundritual significanceor Old Worldfor such purposes,but the rise of civ- of widespreademployment for largely hedonis- ilization, and in particularmonotheism eliminat- tic purposes:they may simply belong to the ma- ed most of these traditionsin the Old World(and terial medica." Under most conditions, in non- in those areas of the New World, where Euro- industrial societies, psychoactive substances pean religious influence has affected the pre- were often, if not always used in ritualistic,re- contact uses of such species). More fundamen- ligious contexts. tally, La Barre argued that humans, at least in Mind-altering plant species, including the

This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 2003] MERLIN:PSYCHOACTIVE PLANT USE IN THE OLD WORLD 297 ones discussed below, can producea variableal- tered state of consciousness dependingupon the quality and quantity of the psychoactive chemicals ingested, as well as the psychological set of the user and the social-environmentalsetting in which the substance is consumed (Julien 2001).

METHODOLOGY Data used to support the hypothetical,widespread,ancient use of psychoactivedrug species has been extractedfrom the literatureof various disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, ethnobotany, and palynology. Dating of evidence varies in techniqueand relativereliability. Most of the evidence has been dated using the radiocarbonmethod; some chronological docu- mentationhas relied on reference to the written record. Fig. 2. Ancient Greek depiction of opium poppy The archaeologicalevidence for psychoactive capsule or pomegranatefruit? (Courtesyof Mrs. Suz- anne Labiner,Beverly Hills, California). drugplant research has traditionallycome in two forms, artifactualand paleoethnobotanical.The advantagesand disadvantagesof both forms of Artifact interpretation may vary between dif- evidence must be considered.All artifactualev- ferent schools of archaeological theory, or sim- idence is subject to some type of interpretation ply may differ in the identification of what spe- and reconstruction.Disagreement may arise con- cies is represented. For example, an evolution- ceming the specific identificationof the organ- ary theorist may be hard pressed to refer to a ism that the artifactis supposed to represent,as clay figurine as a religious object because it ap- well as the interpretationof its artistic,religious, pears to have enormous breasts and hips; or ar- medicinal or other practical use or inspiration. tifacts depicting globular "fruit" may seem to The paleoethnobotanicalrecord is much less some to be representations of opium poppy (Pa- subjective. However difficulties in assigning paver somniferum L.) capsules, but to others specimens to specific taxa may occur (Pearsall they appear be depictions of pomegranate (Pun- 1989), and confirmationof its putative use by ica granatum L.) fruits (see Fig. 2, also see Mer- humansis also sometimes difficult or even con- lin 1984). The most basic biological interpreta- tentious. The most reliable information should tions of an artifact may be the least controversial be a combinationof the two types of archaeo- and most reliable. For example, a painting in an logical evidence. Although scholars ideally Egyptian tomb may depict a specific plant spe- should identify the species "symbolic meanings cies, such as the Egyptian lotus or blue water from depictions on artifacts and their [macro- lily (Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. var. caerulea fossil or microfossil] presence in archaeological (Sav.) Verdc.-N. caerulea Savigny), which can sediments" (Popper and Hastorf 1988:2), the be more clearly identified and referenced. How- discovery of this kind of corroborativeevidence ever, any interpretation beyond identification has been rare. without supplemental evidence such as referenc- Much of the evidence from Europe is paleo- es from papyri may be premature or inaccurate. botanical,while in other areas such as the Near Documentary evidence is usually not available. East the evidence is usually limited to artifacts Therefore, a prudent interpretation of archaeo- and their interpretation.This reflects regional logical remains must take into account the con- techniques, biases, and the amount of research text and associations of the artifact within the undertakenby archaeologists working in these site. areas. A scarcity or lack of evidence from an Paleoethnobotany, as a subfield of ethnobot- area should not be assumed to representthe ac- any, is "concerned with elucidating human-plant tual prehistoricpreference or use of a plant. relations in the past through study of archaeo-

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Fig. 3. Poppy capsules, circa 4,200 years old, recovered from small grass woven baskets found in a burialcave of Cueva de los Murcidlagosnear Albufnol Fig. 4. Ancient evidence for Papaver somniferum in the southern Spanish province of Granada(from in the WesternMediterranean, comes in the form of Neuwiler 1935). capsules recovered from small grass woven baskets found in a burialcave (Cuevade los Murcielagos)near Albufiol in the southernSpanish province of Granada. logical plant remains"(Pearsall 1989). These remains consist of three types: macrofossil re- possible the archaeological finds and references mains, pollen grains, and phytoliths.Macrofossil will be analyzed for accuracy and reliability in remains may be desiccated, burned, or water- the three areas of archaeological interest out- logged wood, leaves, fruits or seeds that may be lined above: artifact interpretation, paleoethno- recoveredin situ by screening techniquesor flo- botanical analysis and dating techniques. tation. Some paleoethnobotanicalfinds recovered from ancient sites in the early stages of ar- RESULTS chaeological researchwere not carefullyextract- Selected evidence is presented below for a ed from non-disturbedcontexts, for example, limited number of psychoactive species or gen- opium poppy capsules from southern Spain, era in the Old World, especially for those that (Gongora 1868; Fig. 3 and 4) and opium poppy have a relatively more extensive, ancient, ar- seeds from various central Europeansites (Mer- chaeological record of association with humans. lin 1984; Fig. 5 and 6). Although these fossils Within the discussion of each taxa, references cannot be dated or placed in the most accurate will be examined, where appropriate and feasi- contexts as possible, they are some the most di- ble, in an order based on antiquity of the evi- rect ancient evidence of the presence and prob- dence, and according to their cultural dispersal able use of this species in the region. Pollen consists of three layers: living cell, in- tine, and exine, and of these three layers only exine remainsin fossilized pollen. Identification ...... of fossil pollen is based upon identificationof t.:. : the structure,form and aperturesof the exine. Phytolithsare opal silica bodies found in plants. They may provide importantinformation from archaeologicalsites that are not conducive to the preservation of macrofossil remains or pollen. The ability to identify any paleoethnobotanical remains relies on comparativereference collec- tions. Some pollen is especially difficult to identify, and may only be recognized as belonging to a particularfamily or genus rather than the Fig. 5. The small vial holds 4,500 year old, Neo- exact species. The size and extent of paleoeth- lithic opium poppy seeds recoveredfrom a Cortaillod settlement at SeeufersidlungTwann on the shores of nobotanicalcollections varies between different Lake Bieler, Switzerlandin 1975 (courtesyof Fritz H. regions and areas, often based on the history and Schweingruber,Swiss FederalInstitute of ForestryRe- extent of archaeological research. When it is search).

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SWITZE R_

IN NEOLITHIC,COPPER, AND BRONZEAGE SITES OF THE SWISS FORELAND 1 LakeChalain 10 Oberkirch 19 Niederwil 27 LakeBourget 2 Yverdon 11 LakeBaldegger 20 Pfyn 28 Morigen 3 Cortaillod 12 Zug-Sumpf 21 Steckbarn 29 Wallinshofen 4 Auvenier 13 Utoquai 22 Sipplingen 30 Alpenquai 5 St. Blaise 14 Mannedorf 23 Weier 31 Langrain 6 Moosseedorf 15 Obermeilen 24 Reute(Waldsee) 32 Buchau 7 Solothurn 16 Thun 25 Riedschachen- 33 Dullenried 8 Seeberg(Burgaschi) 17 Horgen siedlung 9 Egozwil 18 Rabenhausen 26 Arbon

Fig. 6. Ancient fossil evidence for Papaver somniferumin the Swiss Forelandand surroundingareas.

This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 300 ECONOMICBOTANY [VOL. 57 or the geographicaldistribution of their known senting a numberof plant species. This evidence ancient use. has been used to supportthe hypothesis that the The ancient archaeologicalrecord is reviewed hominid body was deliberately,and perhapsrit- in detail for the following taxa:Ephedra L., Per- ualistically buried on a bed of woody branches ganum harmala L., Papaver somniferum L., and flowers sometime between May and July, Cannabis L., Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. var. when the flowers of many of the species were caerulea (Sav.) Verdc., and Mandragora offici- in bloom. narum L. As noted above, some species that Palynological analysis identified a numberof have been used for mind-alteringpurposes have species including Achillea-type, Centaurea sol- also been employed for a variety of other rea- stitialis, Senecio-type, Muscari-type, Althea- sons. These multi-purposeplants include, for ex- type and Ephedra altissima (Leroi-Gourhan ample, Cannabis (true hemp) which has been 1975); and a subsequentphytopharmacological grown for fiber production, seed food for hu- evaluation of the therapeuticpotential of these mans and animals, as an oil source, and, of plants revealed their objective healing activity course, for its psychoactive resin. Thereforethe (Lietava 1992). This medical utility could have need to verify the archaeologicalcontext which encouraged the intentional selection of these supportsthe argumentthat the species was pre- plant species by the Middle PaleolithicShanidar sent and used as a mind-alteringsubstance is Neanderthals.Ephedra altissima yields ephed- desirable,if not crucial. This also applies to Pa- rine, an alkaloid that produces sympatomimetic paver somniferum (the opium poppy), whose and amphetamine-likeeffects (Teuscher 1979), seeds could come from field "weeds" or have as well as euphoria (Wenke 1986:579). There- been used as a food or oil plant, ratherthan as fore it may have served as an entheogen for rit- source of opiates. Furthermore,in the case of ualistic, spiritualpurposes, and/or a medicinal. Ephedra, plants in this genus could have been However, not everyone has agreed with the burned for fuel. Nevertheless, there is strong hypothesis that the placement of the flowering reason to believe that all of the species featured plant offerings at the burial site was a conscious in this survey were used, at least in part, for choice of the Neanderthals(e.g., see Sommer ritualistic, spiritual purposes reflecting the an- 1999). The original report described the exis- cient relationshipsof humans and psychoactive tence of animal holes around the burial along plants for religious inspiration. with the fossil remains of the "Persian jird" (Meriones persicus Blanford). This rodent spe- EPHEDRA cies lives in large colonies and is known to store As a member of the GymnospermDivision large amount of seeds and flowers in its bur- Gnetophyta,an enigmatic group of seed plants, rows. Indeedexcavators identified numerous jird the genus Ephedra includes 45 to 50 species. burrowsnear the burial, and 70% of all the ro- These perennial, dioecious, small shrubs (and dent bone recovered from ShanidarCave was one small, tree-like form) are a small, extraor- from this jird species. Analysis of jird burrows dinary group of plants adapted to arid condi- has also revealed the remains of many of the tions. They have photosyntheticstems with no same flowers that were found around Shanidar leaves, and are found in cool, dry areas of Asia, IV. Thus the presence of flower pollen around Europe,Africa, North Americaand South Amer- the skeleton may not have been the result of rit- ica. ualistic activity, but simply the establishmentof The oldest date for a potentiallypsychoactive jird burrows following the burial (Sommer plant in a culturalcontext is from the Neander- 1999). thal burialsite at ShanidarCave in northernIraq Ephedra has sometimes been referred to as where pollen of an Ephedra species (E. altissima source of the active ingredient for the ancient Willk., cf. Leroi-Gourhan1975; Solecki 1971) soma (or haoma) beverage that was used for rit- was dated to more than 50,000 B.C. (Solecki ualistic and religious purposes over a wide re- 1975). The Shanidarlimestone cave, now locat- gion that included areas now referredto as India ed over 700 meters above sea level yielded soil and Iran, and perhaps a much broader range samples extracted from around the male burial (e.g., see Rudgley 1998). Soma has been closely known as ShanidarIV. Two of the samples con- identified with the Indo-Iranians,people whose tained a large quantity of pollen grains repre- ancient home land was located somewhere in

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CentralAsia. According to most archaeological simply to wardoff evil spiritsor as a "good luck interpretations,this early culture divided into charm." two separategroups approximately4,000 years More recently,however, Ephedra has been re- ago. One group became the ancient Iranianpeo- asserted as the source of the soma drug based ples, the other,the Indo-Aryans,migrated south on archaeologicalevidence recoveredfrom Rus- into what is now Afganistan and the Indus Val- sian excavations at Gonurdepe, the 4,000 year- ley. These two groups of people preserved ex- old "Zoroastriancapital" in the Kara Kum de- tensive, religious oral traditionsthat were sub- sert of Turkmenistan,known in ancient times as sequently rendered in written form as the Rig Margiana.The Gonur depe complex is part of Veda of the Indians and the Avesta of the Ira- the previouslyunknown Bronze Age civilization nians. Central rituals in both of these ancient in Bactria (North Afghanistan) and Margiana cultural traditions involved consumption of an (Turkmenistan).Now referredto as the Bactria- entheogenic (spiritually stimulating) plant or MargianaArchaeological Complex (BMAC), it fungus. This psychoactive species (or mixtureof had two distinct cultural periods, the first be- species) was called soma by the Indians and tween 1900 and 1700 B.C. and the second be- haoma by the Iranians. Similar rituals are per- tween 1700 and 1500 B.C. (Parpola 1994). At formedby some of the descendantsof these peo- Gonur depe, archaeologistsfound monumental ples who now use substitutesfor soma that are sites dated to the first half of the second millen- not mind-altering;however, the identity of the nium B.C. (Sarianidi1994). original, sacred, mind-altering species has re- The Gonur South area of this site comprises mained a mystery for many centuries. A large a fortified compoundof buildings. A large "sa- numberof species were put forwardas putative cred fire temple" shrine situated within this candidatesfor soma during 19th and 20th cen- compound has two parts; one appears to have turies (e.g., see Merlin 1972). been used for public worship, but the other was After many decades of debate about the iden- a hidden "inner sanctum of the priesthood" tity of the psychoactive substance in the soma/ which consists of private rooms (cf. Rudgley haoma drink, R. Gordon Wasson's (1968) pub- 1998). Analysis of the contentsin ceramicbowls lication of Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immor- found in at least one of these private rooms by tality, arguedvery persuasivelythat the fly-aga- Professor Meier-Melikyan(1990) revealed the ric mushroom, Amanita muscaria (Fr. Ex L.) traces of both Cannabis and Ephedra. It has Quel. is the species in question. Wasson's ar- been suggested that both of these psychoactive gument was based mainly on ancient Indian substanceshad been used in conjunctionin the sources. A majorityof scholarsaccepted his the- makingof psychoactivedrinks. Ten ceramicpot- sis. However, a couple of decades later,Flattery stands found in a room adjoining the "inner and Schwartz(1989) arguedeffectively for Syr- sanctum" seem to have been used in combina- ian rue (Perganum harmala, Zygophyllaceae), tion with strainers designed to separate the which was originally identified as the source of "juices from the twigs, stems and leaves of the soma by Sir William Jones in 1794. Flatteryand plants" (Rudgley 1998; cf. Sarianidi 1994). A Schwartzrelied primarilyupon Iranianevidence basin in another room at the other end of the to support their assertion that soma should be shrine contained a large quantity of Cannabis, identified with P. harmala since this species is along with pottery stands and strainersthat also still well-known for its psychoactive effects in appearto have used to make mind-altering,rit- the home land region of the Indo-Iranians. ualistic beverages. Evidence that human used P. harnala in the A pottery strainer,comparable to those found fifth millennium B.C. has been recovered from at shrine at GonurSouth, that was also used ap- the Caucasus region (Lisitsyna and Prishcepen- parentlyto concoct psychoactivebeverages, was ko 1977); and according to Miller (2003), P. recoveredfrom the shrine at the site of Togoluk harmala "becomes more common in the third 1 (mid-second millennium B.C.), although re- millennium [B.c.] archaeobotanicalsamples in mains of mind-alteringplants have not been dis- the Near East, and is thereforelikely to be as- covered in this site. In addition,vessels found in sociated with overgrazing." However, it may shrineat a thirdsettlement, Togoluk 21 (late sec- have been used for religious purposes, or, as it ond millennium B.C.) contained remains of is employed today in some areas of this region, Ephedra and the opium poppy (P. somniferum);

This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 302 ECONOMICBOTANY [VOL. 57 moreover, an engraved bone tube containing the Shaanxi Province of China (Manhong and "poppy pollen" was also recovered from this Jianzhong 1990). The earliest writtenrecords of same shrine (Sarianidi 1994). Ma Huang use can be found in a classic Chinese The architecturallyimpressive temples in the compilationof herbs called Shen Nong Ben Cao Gonur depe complex of the BMAC are dated to Jing (Flaws 1998), which dates back to the first the period of the early Mesopotamianciviliza- century A.D. This early, studious treatise is a tion; and the discovery of ritual vessels dated compilationof the greaterpart of all the knowl- between 2000-1000 B.C. with the remains of edge about herbal medicine before the Han dy- mind-alteringdrug plants in these temple shrines nasty, discussing the uses of 365 ancient medic- "show that soma in its Iranianform haoma may inal plants." be consideredas a composite psychoactive substance comprising of Ephedra and Cannabis PAPA VERSOMNIFERUM (see Cannabis section below) in one instance The most ancient evidence for opium poppy and Ephedra and opium (see Papaver somnifer- use comes from sites in the Mediterraneanre- um section below) in another."(Rudgley 1998; gion. Remarkablenew evidence for a very old cf. Parpola 1994). opium poppy association with humans was re- According to Miller (2003), photographsof cently discovered in the underwaterLa Mar- the Ephedra, Cannabis, and Papaver, and ar- motta site in Lake Bracciano,Italy, northwestof chaeological specimens presented in the Togo- Rome about 35 kilometers from the Tyrrhenian lok-21 reportby Meier-Melikyan(1990), appear Sea. This site has been submergedby rising wa- to be consistent with the respective species; ters of the lake; however, approximately7,700 however, the determinationof the Papaver spe- years ago this small "city" was accessible from cies needs furtherstudy to confirm that it is P. the sea by boat via the ArroneRiver. Italian ar- somniferum. Indeed, Miller suggests that the chaeologists, sifting through the ruins of this poppy seeds could have come from field weeds Stone Age settlement,believe the La Marmotta or have been used as a food plant ratherthan as site was occupied by an early EuropeanNeolith- an opiate source for medicine or ritual. Miller ic farming community which lasted for about also points out that in an arid climate, the wood 500 years (Kunzig 2002). Many organicremains of Ephedra could have been burned for fuel. were well preservedunderneath 3 metersof lime Other scientists, who have critically reviewed at the bottom of lake. Among the remarkable the evidence for Cannabis in the CentralAsian discoveries of preserved remains of plant and BMAC sites, concluded that the clay impres- animal materialare P. somniferumseeds which sions from Gonur Temenos which are claimed were presumablycultivated for food, oil, medi- to have been made with hemp (Cannabis) by cine, and possibly cult use (Fugazzola 2003). Sarianidi(in Appendix I of 'Margianaand pro- "The bigger discovery concerns a 'great moth- tozorastrism') "are clearly of [Millet] Panicum er' [with] palaeolithic [features] in a room of miliaceum" (Bakels 2003; Nesbitt 2002). this Neolithic settlement [and thus the] poppy Ephedra species have, indeed, been used me- seeds of La Marmottahave been found in as- dicinally for hundreds,even thousandsof years sociation with [a] religious [cult] room" (Sa- in the regions where they grow. Ma huang morini 2003). The fossil seeds from this Italian (Ephedra sinica Stapf.), also known as Tsaopen- site are the oldest known seeds of P. somniferum Ma Huang, is a shrub, 30 to 50 cm in height, found in association with humans, indicating native to East Asia. An oral traditionin China that use and cultivation of the opium poppy dating back to approximately2800 B.C., which dates back at least to the early Neolithic. is associated with the legendary first Chinese Although the archaeologicalevidence for P. emperorand herbalistor shaman,Shen Nong (or somniferumpresented above does not necessar- Shen Nung), refers to the medicinal use of the ily point towardmind-altering use, the following dried stems of Ma Huang to cure multiple ail- remark is insightful: "The opium poppy has ments such as the common cold, coughs, asth- been cultivatedsince Neolithic times, perhapsin ma, headaches, and hay fever. Ephedra ("ma- the first place for poppy-seed oil, but who can huang") pollen has been recovered from the doubt that its narcoticproperty enhanced its val- Banpo sites (dated to ca. 4800 to 4300 B.C.) of ue" (Dimbleby 1967; also see Merlin 1984). the Neolithic Yangshaoculture in east Xi'an, in Cult use of the opium poppy approximately

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2500 years ago (VIII-VI century B.C.) in south- dence reaches as far back as the Late Bronze east region of the Italian peninsula (Foggia Age, and possibly earlier.In this region evidence Province) has been interpretedfrom the archae- for P. somniferum comes predominantly in the ological remains(steles) of the pre-RomanDau- form of artifacts recovered from Late Bronze ni culture (Leone 1995, 1995-96; Nava 1988). Age sites in Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Egypt, Pal- Leone (1995) hypothesizes that the sphere- estine, and Syria (e.g., Emboden 1981, 1989; shaped "pendantsworn at the belt by the femi- Gabra 1956; Kritikos and Papadaki 1967; Mar- nine DaunianStelae representopium plants, Pa- inatos 1937; Merlin 1984; Merrillees 1968, paver Somniferum." She believes that the sig- 1999; Mylonas 1966; Quibell and Hayter 1927; nificant "spiritual role the plant played may Randall-Maclverand Wooley 1911; Sciaparelli have made it a monopoly of the priestly caste," 1927). The types of archaeologicalevidence and and that these illustratedpillars bearing inscrip- additional references can be found in Table 1. tions "assume a new significance in the light of Some key examples of related artifactsand re- this hypothesis." cent direct evidence are discussed below. Archaeobotanicalevidence for opium poppy Accordingto Merrillees(1999), "Possibly the use has also been found recently in an ancient earliest representationof the poppy capsule in Roman farmhouse (villa rustica) excavated in the Aegean world is a small limestone half-cap- 1996 near Pompeii (at Villa Vesuvio, southern ital, about 5 inches high [12.5 cm], from the Italy). At the bottom of one of the storage vats Palace of Knossos in Crete." This small artifact (dolia) discoveredin the cellar of this farmhouse resembling a "dried-outpoppy capsule" has a (which is typical of other such structuresof the flat top representingthe stigma, and spherical same time of the great eruption,79 A.D.) was a body similarto the poppy seed capsule and thal- high percentageof seeds from plants associated amus; it dates to the Late Minoan I (1600-1450 with medicinal use, including Papaver somni- B.C.), and was no doubt made to fit on the upper ferum; these seeds were recovered along with part of a pillar to resemble a real poppy capsule bones of reptiles and amphibians, suggesting fastened to its stem (see Evans 1928; Zervos that this assemblage is the residue of a "medic- 1956). inal" preparation(Ciaraldi 2000). Remains of a Most of the evidence for the presence and use "poppy seed cake" were also found in a "ritual of the opium poppy on mainlandGreece in the context from the city of Pompeii," in a "typical Mycenaeanperiod (ca. 1550-1100 B.C.) is in the atrium" building known as the "House of the form of artifactswith representationsof the seed Weddingof Hercules" (Ciaraldiand Richardson capsule. However, certitude of these represen- 2000). These "votive offerings" probablyhon- tations has been debated as to whetherthey de- ored the goddess "Isis/Demeter."Although this pict poppy capsules or pomegranatefruits; the evidence of opium poppy use was excavated latter also are spherically shaped and have "from deposits dated to the end of the second crowns that are serrated(e.g., see Seeberg 1969, century BC to AD 79, it is more likely that they also see Fig. 2). Some of the artifactsin question were probablydeposited in the 1st centuryA.D." definitelydo representopium poppy capsules, or (Ciaraldi2003). at least resemble P. somniferum much more Ancient evidence for P. somniferumin the closely. Among these are two examples from the Western Mediterranean,comes in the form of Peleponnesus that date to approximately 1500 capsules recoveredfrom small grass woven bas- B.C. (the transitionperiod from Late Helladic I kets from a burial cave (Cueva de los Murcie- to Late Helladic II) which have ribbed bodies lagos) near Albuniol in the southern Spanish with serratedstigmas. One is a brooch-pinethat province of Granada(Gongora 1868; Neuwiler has a gold head and a silver stem; the other is a 1935; see Fig. 3). These capsules have been ra- gold pendant, from Mycenae. As Merrillees diocarbon-datedto c. 4,200 years old (Giner (1979) has pointed out, these artifactswith rep- 1980). resentationsof opium poppy capsules are very A relatively large amount of archaeological similar to two gold pins from Anatolia, dating evidence and literaryreference to the ancientuse to about 1400-1200 B.C. (the pins are partof the of the opium poppy from the Eastern Mediter- NorbertSchimmel collection in the New York's raneanregion has been uncoveredfor its use as MetropolitanMuseum). Besides the exteriorfea- food, medicine, and cult activities. This evi- tures of these pins that have heads resembling

This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions TABLE 1. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF SELECTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE PREHISTORIC USE OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG PLANTS IN THE OLD ,\ WORLD.

Date Species Location Evidence Reference

60 000 B.P Ephedra Shanidar IV, N. Iraq, Burial Site Microfossils: Ephedra spp. pollen Solecki, 1975 IV outside of cave samples in grave 10000 B.P Cannabis Taiwan Artifacts: pottery shards w/ hemp Chang, K 1968; Kung, C. T 1959 rope imprints, similar to those used from stem 5700 B.C. Papaver somniferum La Marmotta, Lake Bracciano, Ita- Macrofossil: Poppy seeds Fugazzola 2003 ly 5th Millennium B.C. Peganun harmala Caucasus ? Lisitsyna and Prishcepenko 1977 4800-3200 B.C. P. somniferum Lac De Chalain Site, Switzerland, Macrofossils: Poppy seeds Neuweiler 1935; Merlin 1984 lakeside habitation 4115-3535 B.C. Cannabis Pan Po Village, Weishui Valley, Artifacts: weaving design on pot- Li 1974 S. Shensi Prov., China. Tem- tery jar, hemp cloth imprints perate climate on pottery jar. z0 4000-3000 B.C. P. somniferum Robenhausen Settlement, Lake Macrofossils: seeds & one unripe Heer 1866; Merlin 1979 0 Pfuffiker, Switz. capsule 4000 B.C. P. somniferum Homstaad-Homle I, Lake Con- Macrofossil Coles and Coles 1989 stance Germany 0 3600 B.C. P. somniferum Neolithic Settlement, Weier, Macrofossils: (layer 18) 619 pop- Fredskild 1978; Merlin 1984 Switz. Lake settlement site py seeds, 48% of layer sample z 3300 B.C. P. somniferum Charavinces, Lake Paladru, Microfossil: Pollen Coles and Coles 1989 France 3200-2600 B.C. P. somniferum Cortaillod Lakeshore Settlement, Macrofossils: 3000 poppy seeds Villaret-Von Rochow 1967; Mer- Seeberg, Switz. lin 1984 3200-2600 B.C. P. somniferum Niederwil Bog Site, Switz. Pfyn Micro/Macrofossils: P. somnifer- van Zeist and Casparie 1974; Culture um indicating presence as im- Merlin 1984 portant domesticated species 3000 B.C. P. somniferum Vavrovice, Czechoslovakia, settle- Macrofossils: Poppy seeds w/ an- Sikulova and Opravil 1974; Mer- ment, end of Atlantean Period imal fossils in settlement lin 1984 2900-2700 B.C. P. somniferum Lagozza, N. Italy Macrofossils: opium poppy seeds, Sordelli 1880; Hoops 1905; Mer- indicating domestication lin 1984 4th Dyn. 2720 2560 B.C. Nymphaea nouchali Egypt Artifact: Fresco depicts water lily Pleyte 1875; Emboden 1989 (syn N. caerulea) as offering to Osiris Neolithic (no date) P. somniferum Poland, Zeslawice, Radial Deco- Macrofossils: 12 opium poppy Gizbert 1961; Merlin 1984 rated Pottery Culture seed fossils

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Date Species Location Evidence Reference

2500 B.C. P. somniferum Cueva de Los Murcielogos, Macrofossils: opium poppy cap- Gongora 1868; Merlin 1984 Spain, cave burial site sules & seeds in esparta grass handbag 2000-1500 B.C. P. somniferum Hugelgraber (hill trench/grave) Macrofossils: Poppy seed fossils Werneck 1949; Merlin 1984 Mistelbach, N. Austria. grave site 2100 B.c.? P. somniferum Nippur, Iran Artifact: may contain reference to Univ. Penn. Artifact #CBS opium poppy as ingredient in 14221; Merlin 1984 prescription? t 18thDyn. 1550-1350 P. somniferum New Kingdom Tombs, Buhen, S. Artifact: carnelian "vasiform" Randall-Maclver and Wooley B.C. Egypt poppy capsule bead necklace 1911 z Ih ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 18thDyn. 1550-1350 P. somniferum Teti Pyramid, Saqqara, Egypt Artifact: statue of small naked Quibbel and Hayter 1927 g B.C. boy with disproportionate carnelian "poppy capsule" earrings, found in coffin t 18t Dyn. 1550-1350 Mandragora officina- Thebes, Egypt Tomb of Nakht Artifact: Fresco depicts mandrake Emboden 1989 r B.C. rum for purification of nostrils z Late Bronze Age (no P. somniferum Mari, Syria Artifact: Late Bronze Age neck- Merlin 1984 3 date) lace w/ poppy capsule pendants 18thDyn. 1550-1350 P. somniferum Tomb of King Siphtah & Queen Artifacts: blue faience copy of Merrillees 1968 B.C. (New Kindgom) Tauosrit, Thebes opium poppy capsule; two gold Z earrings with capsule represen- tation; gold necklace with gold poppy capsule pendants 0 16th or 15th century B.C. P. somniferum Egypt Base-ring juglet once held liquid Bisset, N. G. et al. 1996; Kas- t containing crude opium and oil chel, K. 1996 that served as the solvent 0 15th century B.C. P. somniferum Palestine (probably) and Egypt Base-ring juglet once held liquid Merrillees 1989 (Tell el-Ajjul near Gaza) containing crude opium 1500-1350 B.C. N. nouchali Egypt Literature: Papyrus of Ani (Book Emboden 1981 of the Dead) explains & depicts shamanic transformations related w/ N. caerulea

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Date Species Location Evidence Reference 18th Dyn. 1550-1350 N. nouchali,M. offi- Tomb of Menna, Tomb of Neba- Artifacts:Menna-Fresco shows N. Emboden 1981 B.C. cinarum, P. somni- mum & Ipuky, Thebes caerulea offering to Horus. Ne- ferum bamum-Frescodepicts funeral shafts of N. caerulea, M. officinarum, P. somniferum 18thDyn. 1550-1350 P. somniferum Tomb of Cha, Egypt Macrofossil:alabaster vessel con- Sciaparelli 1927; Gabra 1956; B.C. taining opium Emboden 1981 1350 B.C. N. nouchali, M. offi- Tomb of Semenkhara,Egypt Artifact:limestone relief, his con- Emboden 1981 cinarum sort Meriathonoffers mandrakes & lillies to Semenkhara 1350-1338 B.C. N. nouchali, M. offi- Egypt: Tomb of Tutankhamen Artifact:Unguent jar depicts Emboden 1989 cinarum Hathorwith necklace of water lilies and mandrake B.C. 14th cent. N. nouchali, M. offi- Tomb of Tutankhamen,Egypt Artifacts:wall scene, Tut holds Emboden 1981 z cinarum Nymphaea & two mandrakes, 0 with ornamentalcollar bearing mandrakefruit. Coffer embel- lishment, wife ministerssick Tut with opium poppy, Nym- phaea & mandrakefruit z 16th or 15th cent. B.C. P. somniferum Cyprus, Egypt, Palestine,Egyp- Artifacts:Cypriot juglets, Base- Merrillees 1962; Sjoquist 1940; tian Grave site ring Ware vases in form of un- Merlin 1984 ripe poppy capsule;juglets containing crude opium 16thor 15'h cent. B.C. P. somniferum Egypt Base-ring Ware vase in form of Bisset et al. 1996; Kochel 1996) unripe poppy capsule, containing crude opium 15th cent. B.C. P. somniferum Palestine, Tell el-Ajjul near Gaza 2 Base-ring Warevases in form Bisset et al. 1996; Kochel 1996 and anotherunknown site in of unripepoppy capsule, con- Palestine taining crude opium 1450-1100 B.C. P. somniferum Buried chamberat Gazi, Crete Artifacts:80 cm tall terracotta Blegen 1936; Merlin 1984 statue, with 3 pins representing poppy capsules in head 1350 B.C. P. somniferum Royal Tomb, Tell El-Amama, Artifact:necklace with gold Merlin 1984 Egypt "poppy capsule" beads

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Date Species Location Evidence Reference

1309-1224 B.C. N. nouchali Temple of Sethos I, Abydos, Artifact:religious scene shows James 1982 Egypt blue water-lilyoffering to Ho- rus 1230 B.C. Nymphaeaalba sav. Tombs of Ramses II & Amenho- Macrofossils:N. alba petals in Emboden 1981; Schweinfurth tep I, Egypt funeralwreaths about mum- 1884 mies 1230 B.C. N. nouchali Egypt: Tombs of Ramses II and Macrofossil:funeral garlands Pleyte 1875; Emboden 1989 AmenhotepI 1220 B.C. P. somniferum Bumed Palace, Beyeesultan, Ana- Artifact/Macrofossil:"opium Karageorghis1976 tolia, CyprusTemple #4 pipe," poppy seeds found in a footed bowl 20t Dyn. 1200 1085 B.C. N. nouchali Thebes, Egypt Artifact:Fresco depicts water lily Emboden 1989 > for purificationof nostrils 1122-249 B.C. Cannabis. Burial site, China, Chou Dynasty Arifact/Macrofossil:Cloth frag- Li 1974 ments made of hemp tTi 1000 B.C. Cannabis Debris pile, Gordion,(near Anja- Artifact:pieces of hemp cloth Belinger 1962 ra) Turkey z 900 B.C. P. somniferum Iraq Artifact:Bas relief, physician Kilgour 1962 holding poppy plant (disputed C interpretation) m 807-779 B.C. P. somniferum Auvernier-Nord,Lake Neuchatel, Macrofossil:Suggests cultivation Coles and Coles 1989 z Switz. 668-626 B.C. P. somniferum Iran Artifact:Assyrian medical tablet Thomas 1949 ti may show knowledge of me- ? dicinal use of opium' 500-300 B.C. P. somniferum The Agora, Athens, Greece Open Artifact:Statue of Demeter hold- Kritikos and Papadaki1967 Marketplace ing a shaft of wheat and poppy 0 capsule (no date) P. somniferum The Sanctuaryof Artemus Orthia, Artifact:Symbolic "poppy cap- Dawkins 1929; Kritikosand Pa- Sparta,Greece sule" bone pendants& lead padaki 1967 figurine 200 B.C. Cannabis China Literature:Chou-Li, mentions use Touw 1981; Li 1975 of Cannabis as a fiber. Also evidence of use of Cannabis seeds as a domesticatedgrain crop

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- "

,0I4

U O o "200 u

Fig. 7. Thbularvase probablyused to inhale opium vapors. It was recovered from a subterranean "cult" chamberin Gazi, Crete (near Knossos), dated to 1450-1100 B.C. (Courtesyof Vassos Karageorghis, formnerdirector, National Museum of Antiquities,Nic- osia, Cyprus).

the poppy capsule, inside each of the hollow pinheads "is a loose object that rattles when the object is shaken.This was clearly done to mimic the seeds in dried-outpoppy capsules. The mod- el for these pieces of jewelry was not the unripe, UC l. ', juice-laden bulb, but ratherthe desiccated capsule, which is often included in modem dried- flower arrangements"(Merrillees 1999). o I-kSe 40 Certainlyone of the prime examples of a con- nection of the opium poppy with ritual and/or spiritual use in the Eastern Mediterraneanarea is a large terracottagoddess figurine(ht. 80 cm) recovered from a subterranean"cult" chamber U= in Gazi, Crete (near Knossos). This "Poppy Goddess" statue has a half-lengthbody with up- lifted hands and a trance-like facial expression (Blegen 1936; Marinatos 1937, see Cover Illus- tration).The artifacthas been dated to Late Mi- noan III (1450-1100 B.C.). It has three move- able, incised pins in the head which have been identified as representationsof opium poppy capsules tapped for the alkaloid-richsap; in addition, it was found in association with para- phernalia(including a tubularvase, Fig. 7) that indicate probable inhalation of opium vapors (Kritikosand Papadaki1967; Merlin 1984). The "Poppy Goddess" may also represent"a priest-

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a long-standing familiarity with [opium]" (Mer- rillees 1999). An extensive late Bronze Age trade network for the production and export of opium latex, apparently centered in Cyprus, sup- I.E-I plied a variety of ancient cultures in the eastern ... Mediterranean as a medicinal balm or a ritual i. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~substance. Late Bronze Age ceramic juglets (Base-ring ware, Fig. 9), most of them similar in shape and approximately 10-15 cm tall, have Fig. 8. Cylindrical, engraved, ivory "pipe" (13.5 cm long) with "distinct traces of burning," probably been found in tombs and settlements throughout showing the stains from inhaled opium smoke, found much of the Middle East. Turned upside down, in ritualistic context (12th century B.C.) at Kition on these thin-necked, pear-shaped, small vessels Cyprus. (Courtesy of Vassos Karageorghis, former Di- with their round bases resemble opium poppies rector, National Museum of Antiquities, Nicosia, Cy- prus). pods. Further indication of what was contained inside is indicated by the swollen bodies that have white markings symbolizing knife inci- ess hallucinating for the purpose of uttering sions made on poppies capsules to allow opium prophecies" (Merrillees 1999). latex to ooze out for collection (see Fig. 10). Similar, or associated, opium use parapher- Hundreds of the Late Bronze Age, Base-ring nalia (e.g., a comparable tubular vase) were also juglets have been found in sites in areas includ- found in a roughly contemporaneous, ritualistic ing Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Some of them, context (12th century B.C.) at Kition on Cyprus. analyzed with the gas chromatography proce- One of the most remarkable artifacts from this dure in the 1980s and 1990s, have turned up Late Bronze Age site is a 13.5 cm long, cylin- traces of opium (Bisset et al. 1996; Koschel drical (slightly tapered), carefully engraved, ivo- 1996; Merrillees 1989). Since many of these ry "pipe" with "distinct traces of burning," Cypriot juglets were recovered from Late probably showing the stains from inhaled opium Bronze Age tombs in the Levant, we can sur- smoke (Karageorghis 1976; Merlin 1984; see mise that these poppy capsule-shaped vessels Fig. 8). were "believed to be magically invested with By the 12th century B.C. "Cyprus already had the same therapeutic properties as its contents;

- A ...... -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - s .

Fig. 9. Late Bronze Age ceramicjuglets (Base-ringware), most of them similarin shape and approximately 10-15 cm tall, have been found in tombs and settlementsthroughout much of the Middle East. Turnedupside down, these thin-necked,pear-shaped, small vessels with theirround bases resembleopium poppy pods (Courtesy of the AshmoleanMuseum, Oxford, England).

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fore with the goddess Demeter.This deity in par- ticular was connected with the opium poppy, and as such she was frequently depicted with stemmed grains of barley or wheat and opium poppy capsules in her hands or headdresses - ; (e.g., Evans 1925; Kritikos and Papadaki 1967; Merrillees 1999, Fig. 11). In fact, P. somniferum was a weedy or cultivated plant intimately involved in the culturalecology of ancient Greek, 4~ and probably many other agriculturalsocieties of the ancient world (Merlin 1984). The divine, twin brothers,Hypnos and Thanatos,representing sleep and death, were also often showed with poppies in their crowns or their hands, manifesting the Greek awareness that sleep in- I_t~~~~~~~~~~~~~ duced by opium brought rest and oblivion, but an overdose might be fatal. The opium poppy, both in plant and in capsule form, appears on various coins of the ancient Greek and Roman periods, at least in some cas- es, testamentto the use of the poppy as a symbol of various divinities (e.g., see Kritikos and Pa- padaki 1967; Merlin 1984). The capsule of the Fig. 10. Incised,unripe opium poppy capsule with opium poppy is also shown on Jewish coinage latex(opium) oozing out. dated to the 2nd and 1st centuriesB.C. (Meshorer 1982). Recent North Africanevidence for opium the juglet itself may have symbolized the eternal poppy in association with people comes from a sleep of the dead" (Merrillees 1999). site in Tunisia that yielded P. somniferumma- In Classical Greece, the opium poppy was a terials from the Carthaginian,Iron Age, Punic, multipurposeplant that had secular and sacred Roman, Medieval, and Byzantine periods (van uses, includingmundane medicinal and food ap- Zeist et al. 2001). plications, as well as muiltifariousassociations Macrofossil and microfossil evidence from with divine aspects of the Greek culture (see ancient Neolithic European sites north of the Kritikos and Papadaki1967; Merlin 1984; Mer- Mediterraneanprior to 2000 B.C. for the opium rillees 1999). Ancient Greeks associatedfertility poppy, Papaver somniferum, is relatively abun- and abundancewith the opium poppy, and there- dant, especially in the Swiss Forelandand other

Fig. 11. This terracotta relief was recoveredfrom Magna Graecia(ancient Greek colonies of South Italy). It depicts the Goddess of Spring (Persephon)emerging from the underworldwith poppy capsules, sheaves of grain, and lilies in both hands (from Evans 1925:16, Fig. 18, Courtesyof the Journal of Hellenic Studies).

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-. -

- - Fig. 13. Hemp twine and rope made from Cannabis.

(1998) for the Neolithic period from the Hes- bayan Linear Pottery culture in Belgium; and Monckton (2000) for Iron Age and Roman sites in the Arrow Valley, Great Britain. Many Me- dieval archaeologicalsites have also been shown to contain remains of P. somniferum;for example, Wiethold (1995) documented evidence from 14th century A.D.well/cesspits from Kiel, in Schleswig-Hostein,Germany.

CANNABIS Much evidence for the early use of Cannabis Fig. 12. Cannabisplant (courtesyof RobertConnell for fiber, food, medicine, ceremony and recrea- Clarke). tion can be gleaned from ancient writtenrecords (Fig. 12, 13, 14, and 15). However, the archae- areas in Central Europe (Fig. 5 and 6). These remains, excluding the recent discovery at La Marmotta site (north of Rome) described above, (e.g., in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Aus- tria, Switzerland, Germany, northern Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) date back variously to about 3000 B.C. based on radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic analysis (Merlin 1984; Coles and Coles 1989; PLANTED for additional references see chronological table | .I l 8 . . , :

1). HARVARD BOTANIC GARDEN A; Many recent references for the opium poppy evidence in ancient Europe have been provided by Kroll (2003). For example, see the following: Gyulai (1996) for late Bronze Age and Iron Age sites (Urn field period) of the Hallstatt and La- tene cultures in Hungary; Kroll (2001) for middle Neolithic Funnel Beaker, TRB culture, at Wangels, Eastern Holsatia, in Northwestern Ger- many; Castelletti and Rottoli (1999) for the Neo- lithic period in Italy; Heim and Hauzeur (2002) for the Neolithic period from the Rubane' and Fig. 14. Hemp seed from Cannabis (Courtesy of Blicquy culture in Belgium; Heim and Jadin RichardEvans Schultes).

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is the Xia Xiao Zheng written aroundthe 16th century B.C. It refers to hemp as one of the main crops grown in ancient China (Yu 1987). Re- mains of Cannabis fibers, along with probable fiber impressionsand hemp seeds have been recovered from a variety of archeologicalsites, especially near the Huang He and Yangtze rivers. Cordimpressed pottery with possible fiberev- idence of Cannibis use has been dated to approximately 10,000 B.C. in early post-glacial fishing sites on the south China coast, especially at the Yuan-Shunsite in Taiwan (Chang 1968); and others dating from the fifth millenniumB.C. up to the second century A.D. have been found in several regions on the mainlandof China (Li 1974a,b). Sherratt(1997) noted "that the early use of cord-impressedpottery in China-the so- called Sheng-wen horizon-was associated with an early use of hemp and an appreciation(ex- plicit in the early historical records) of its narcotic properties." More recent evidence of actual hemp fiber Fig. 15. Female inflorescenceof Cannabis. comes from the Song Dynasty (c. 960-1280 A.D.) in the form of statuary fabricated with hemp cordage that was recovered from a site ological record for early use of Cannabis is near Chin-Ch'engin Shanxi Province, northeast much less extensive. Nevertheless, the macro- China (Kuo 1978), and from a Shan Kingdom fossil, pollen, and indirect material evidence site (c. 1520-1030 B.C.) at Anyang in Henan from prehistoryare substantial. Province, eastern China (Chang 1968). Even The earliest human use of Cannabis appears older Cannabis fiber materialhas been excavat- to have occurredin the steppe regions of Central ed from a Zhou Dynasty tomb in Shanxi Prov- Asia or in China (e.g., see Merlin 1972; Lu and ince; and complete hemp cloth specimens have Clarke 1995; Fleming and Clarke 1998). Hemp been found in Han Dynasty tombs (ca. 100 B.C.- was certainly one of the earliest crop plants of 100 A.D.) in Gansu Province, northern China China. Over hundreds, perhaps thousands of (Kansu Museum 1972; for additional ancient years, early inhabitantsof Centraland/or Eastern Chinese fiber and hemp paper artifactevidence, Asia domesticatedCannabis varieties from wild see e.g., Cheng 1959, 1963, 1966; Li 1974a,b; plants into artificiallyselected, cultivatedcrops. and Yin 1978). Cannabis seeds dated to the 9th Chinese historical records and archeological century A.D. have been recovered from Hokkai- data suggest that the history of hemp cultivation do, Japan(Crawford and Takamiya1990); Can- and use in EasternAsia is approximately5,000 nabis along with significantuses in ritual,cloth- to 6,000 years old. China therefore may have ing production,and early papermakingwere in- been the first region to cultivate, and even use troducedto Japanfrom China via Korea approx- hemp. "From the time of the earliest primitive imately 1400 years ago (Hunter 1943). societies (about 4,000-5,000 years ago) to the The use of Cannabisto the west of China has Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC to 220 AD) an- a very ancient history, perhapsolder and some- cient Chinese techniques of hemp sowing, cul- what differentthan that in China. Sherratt(1987, tivation, and processing developed rapidly and 1997) suggests that early inhabitantsof the Eur- became fairly advanced" (Lu and Clarke 1995). asian steppes, members of the Sredni Stog cul- The earliest Neolithic farming communities ture that flourishedabout 4500-3500 B.C., used along the Wei and Huang He (Yellow) rivers Cannabis to make a "socially approvedintoxi- cultivated hemp as well as millet, wheat, beans, cant," celebrating its significance "by imprint- and rice. The oldest Chinese agriculturaltreatise ing it on their pottery." The crucial relationship

This content downloaded from 71.172.224.159 on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 23:01:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 2003] MERLIN:PSYCHOACTIVE PLANT USE IN THE OLD WORLD 313 between horse and humanrider originated in the Sredni Stog culture which flourished in the .i.;'.'..,'''...'.".. .E Ukraine6,000 years ago (Anthony et al. 1991). The origin of horse riding was the first significant innovationin human land transportpredat- ing the invention of the wheel, and hemp fibers may have played an importantrole in this crucial invention of horse riding. One very notable historic reference supports the first ethnographic evidence of an early "smoking culture" in temperateEurasia (Sher- ratt 1995). This indicationconcerning Cannabis comes from Herodotus (c. 446 B.C.), in which he describes the post-funeralpurification ritual of Scythians on the Pontic steppes: "On a frameworkof three sticks meeting at the top, they stretch pieces of woolen cloth, taking care Fig. 16. Tentframe and bronzevessels with stones to get the joins as perfect as they can, and inside and Cannabisseeds found in a series of burialmounds this little tent they put a dish with red-hotstones at Pazyryk in the Altai Mountainsof Siberiadating to the fifth century B.C. (Courtesyof Sir Harry Godwin on it. Then they take some hemp seed, creep into and the JournalAntiquity). the tent, and throw the seeds on the hot stones. At once it began to smoke, giving off vapor un- surpassedby any vapor-bathone could find in back in this area some five or six thousandyears Greece. The Scythians enjoy it so much that and was the focus of the social and religious they would howl with pleasure" (Herodotus,IV, rituals of the pastoralpeoples of central Eurasia 75). in prehistoricand early historic times." The accuracy of this ancient account was es- According to Sherratt(1987) "The first cer- tablishedby archaeologicalexcavations in 1947 tain identificationof hemp [fiber, or any form] of a series of burial mounds at Pazyryk in the in Europe is in the Hallstatt-periodFiirstengrab Altai Mountains of Siberia dating to the fifth [grave] of Hochdorf near Stuttgart,dated to c. centuryB.C. In each buriala 1.2 m-high wooden 500 BC" (cf. Korber-Grohne1985; also see Mer- frame tent was found; and each tent enclosed a lin 1972 for an older, general review). Kroll bronze vessel with stones and hemp seeds, pre- (2003) assertsthat the only definite Neolithic re- sumablyleft smoking in the grave (Fig. 16). "A mains of Cannabis are from "Russia, Ukraine leather pouch with hemp seeds provided sup- or westernmost China." He refers to Larina plies, and scatteredhemp, corianderand melilot (1999) for evidence of Cannabis from the Neo- seeds were also recovered" (Sherratt1995; cf. lithic Linear Pottery Culturein the Russian area Rudenko1970). New evidence for Cannabisuse of the interfluvebetween the Prut and Dniester by the Scythiantribes during the early Iron Age rivers, Pashkevich (1997) for early farmers uti- has been uncovered in the Ukraine (Pashkevich lizing hemp in the Ukraine (Neolithic and 1999). Bronze Age), and Rosch (1998, 1999) for ref- From two earlier cultures, one in Romania erence to Neolithic use of hemp (Hanf) as a fiber from a KurganPit-grave at Gurbanestinear Bu- plant (Gespinstpflanzen). According to Kroll charestdated to the "laterthird millennium BC," (2003), Cannabis was certainly part of the and the other in a northern Caucasian Early Bronze Age southeasternEuropean steppe en- Bronze Age site (more or less comparablethird vironment "even in late Neolithic settlements." millenniumage) from which similar "pipe-cup" However,he points out that similar to the nettle, vessels (polypod, i.e., footed bowls) containing Urtica dioica, "feral forms of Cannabis may be hemp seeds were recovered (Ecsedy 1979). ruderals,like nowadays in [all of] southeastEu- Based on the Herodotus quote and these seed rope. The question is: feral forms from domestic discoveries in widely separatedlocations, Sher- ones? Or domestic forms from wild ones? There ratt (1991) argues that "the practice of burning is no answer, one may use feral forms as well cannabisas a narcotic is a traditionwhich goes as domestic or true wild ones."

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Many other ancient sites, with evidence of Whether or not Cannabis was first used to Cannabis in Europe have been documented. For make fiber, for food (seed of hemp), as a psy- example, see the following: Gyulai (1996) for choactive resin for medicine, for ritual or spiri- evidence from Bronze Age and Iron Age (Urn tual purposes, or a combination of these moti- field period) Hallstatt and Latene cultures in vations, the archaeological record provides evi- Hungary; Robinson and Karg (2000) for Bronze dence that it was a significant ethnobotanical or Iron Age remains at Vallensbak in Denmark; source in antiquity. The ancient medical, psy- Konig (2001) for Roman Iron Age evidence choactive, and ritual uses of Cannabis are often from Trier in Germany; Opravil (2000) for early difficult to separate, especially those mind-alter- Middle Age evidence from Mikulcice in the ing preparations used for medicine, psychologi- Czech Republic; and Lempiainen (1999) for a cal stimulation, and ritual use; and, of course, review of the history of hemp (Cannabis sativa the interrelationships of traditional religious be- L.) in Finland including archaeobotanical evi- lief, ritualistic practice, and medicinal applica- dence from 800-1600 A.D. tions among psychoactive plants is not limited Archaeological evidence of Cannabis from to Cannabis. In any case, the therapeutic use of Near Eastern sites is scarce, but an intriguing Cannabis has a lengthy and ongoing history, piece of hemp fabric was recovered from a Phyr- with very diverse reports of its medicinal appli- gian Kingdom grave mound site at Gordion, cations. It is well known, for example, that the near Ankara in Turkey which has been dated to ancient medicinal texts (Materia medica) of the late 8th century B.C. (Bellinger 1962; God- Greece and India, as well as China (see above) win 1967). refer to specific uses for this plant. In should Remarkable evidence for Cannabis use in the also be noted here that recent archeobotanical Near East was found more recently in central evidence for Cannabis dating between 400 B.C.- Israel. In the town of Beit Shemesh, near Jeru- 100 A.D. has been found in the Kali Gandaki salem, archaeologists uncovered the skeleton of Valley of Nepal which connects the Tibetan pla- a girl about 14 years old in a tomb from the late teau with the plains of India (Knorzer 2000). Roman period who died in childbirth; "Three In Africa the archaeological evidence for an- bronze coins found in the tomb dating to AD cient Cannabis is not substantial yet; but its first 315-392 indicate that the tomb was in use dur- presence and use on the African continent may ing the fourth century AD" (Zias et al. 1993). A date back as much as 2,000 years ago. All of small amount (6.97 g) of a dark burnt substance the historical references suggest dispersal from was found in the abdominal area of the skeleton. Central, South, or Southeast Asia into Africa pri- Initially thought to have been incense, analysis or to European contact. Indeed, the archeologi- by Israeli police and botanists at Hebrew Uni- cal, linguistic, and historical evidence from the versity determined that the ancient material is a 12th century A.D. to the present indicates that mixture of Cannabis resin (hashish), dried seeds, Cannabis was brought to Africa by Moslem sea fruit and common reeds (Phragmites). Direct ev- traders from the Indian subcontinent, via Arabia, idence of ancient drug substances themselves is possibly as early as the 1st century A.D. (du Toit rare because organic compounds decay rapidly; 1980; also see Emboden 1972 and LaBarre however, the substance found in this person's 1980). Cannabis appears to have spread down skeleton was preserved because it had been car- the eastern coast of Africa and then inland bonized through burning. The archaeologists throughout the tropical sub-Saharan region. Dis- who uncovered this evidence believe the drug persal across Africa was most likely slow, as material was used as an aid in child birth, since only scattered sedentary farming cultures inhab- it increases the strength and rate of recurring ited this region. contractions in women giving birth; it was used According to Emboden (1972), "None of the in deliveries until the 19th century, after which more elaborate techniques of using Cannabis in it was replaced by newly developed drugs. How- the Mediterranean or the Near East accompanied ever, others have disagreed with the strict me- the plant into Africa, and practices in the central dicinal use hypothesis (Prioreschi and Babin part of the continent in the thirteenth century 1993), and argued that ritualistic use cannot yet were very simple." Direct evidence of Cannabis be discounted. Unfortunately this short, young use comes from "two ceramic smoking-pipe female probably died due to excessive bleeding. bowls, excavated in Lalibela Cave, Begemeder

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10008P DATE Lalibela pipe contents 510?90BP

c 88.ee2%confidtence 5 0 800BP0 F 1300AD (0.38) 1360A0 .1 \ 1380A0 (064) 1470AD .g -9 \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~95.4%confience L lOItAD1280AD(0.93) 1530AD 600BP 1570A0 (0.07) 1630AD

308 400BP / \

t 200BP

A2 1 OOOAD 1200AD 1400AD 1600AD 1800AD 2000AD Calibrated date Fig. 18. Radiocarbondating graphfor "cannabis- derived compounds" found in ceramic smoking-pipe bowls excavated from Lalibela Cave, Begemeder Province,Ethiopia (Courtesy of Nikolaasvan der Mer- we).

an Africa, "The simple but efficacious practice of throwing hemp plants on burning coals of a fire and staging what might today be called a Fig. 17. Clay pipe bowls found in Lalibela Cave, Begemeder Province, Ethiopia, dated to 1320 ? 80 "breathin" seems to have been popularinitially. A.D. (Courtesyof Nikolaas van der Merwe). This was elaboratedinto a ritualin which members of a given tribalunit would prostratethem- selves in a circle aroundthe fire and each would Province, Ethiopia" (van der Merwe 1975; cf. extend a reed into the fumes in order to capture Dombrowski 1971; Fig. 17). Modified thin-layer the volatized resins, without the accompanying chromatography indicated the pipe residues con- irritationproduced by standing over the vapors tained "cannabis-derived compounds." The and inhaling.At a later date the fire was elevated bowls were dated to 1320 ? 80 A.D. According to an altar, where humans could sit or stand to van der Merwe, this evidence suggests that while inhaling througha tube extending into the "some variety of Cannabis sativa was smoked smoke." around Lake Tana in the 13th-14th century, in Excavations at the Iron Age site of Sebanzi much the same way as it is today." Subsequent Hill on the southernedge of the Central Kafue related dates for charcoal at 630 ? 80 B.P. and basin in the Southern Province of Zambia by residue in one of the pipes at 510 ? 90 (Fig. 18) Fagan and Phillipson (1965) uncovered four have been reported (van der Merwe 2003). La baked clay, non-Arab designed smoking pipes Barre (1980) notes that "the hypothesis of Af- (Fig. 19 and 20). Radiocarbondating, along with rican pipe smoking in the fourteenth century related pottery sequences, for the oldest two must, however, run the gauntlet of Americanist specimens indicates that these were in use about opinion that the smoking of plant narcotics 1100-1300 A.D., and the others from the 13th- would be post-Columbian, after the pattern of 14th century (van der Merwe 2003). Although Amerindian tobacco smoking." chemical tests of the these pipes from Zambia However smoking, as noted above, most have not yet been possible, the excavatorsof the probably took place in Africa, at least in some pipes argued that they were used for smoking regions, well before European exploration. For Cannabis because tobacco could not have been example, Leonotus leonurus (wild "dagga"), known in Zambia at the time (Phillipson 1965). various species of Salsola ("ganna"), and most An unusual find reported from the Kalahari ubiquitously Cannabis were smoked as far back Desert of Botswana provides a "prehistoric"re- as the Iron Age in South Africa, predominantly cord of pollen from about-130 km west of the among Bantu speakers (du Toit 1975). Okavango River delta. In association with the According to Emboden (1972), in Sub-Sahar- calcite cave deposits (speleothem)that have pre-

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Type I

Type 2

0~~~~~~ Fig. 20. A contemporarysmoking pipe from Kariba, Zambia(Courtesy of Nikolaas van der Merwe). Fig. 19. IronAge claypipe bowl fragments from Sa- Zambia of Nikolaas van der Merwe). banzi, (Courtesy by 1973) that was consciously or inadvertently introducedinto Madagascar.Burney believes the cipitated from solution in a cave scientists have widespreadwild (?) distributionof hemp plants recovered a series of pollen fossils: "Only one is a "regional-scalesignal" of humanimpact in pollen type was identified that may directly in- Madagascar,and that Cannabiswas an early hu- dicate human activity, Cannabis/Humulus (Bur- man introductionby ancient seafarerswho used ney 1987a,b, 1988), which first appears in the the plant for various maritime uses to make sample dated to c. 3827 ? 298 BP" (Burney et rope, sails, water-resistantclothing, and hull al. 1994). For a number of reasons Burney be- caulking. "Therefore hemp would, like goats, lieves that this pollen fossil type can be best pigs, and rats, be among the first species intro- identified as Cannabis (Burney 2003). duced to new lands by Indian Ocean sailors Perhaps the most remarkablerecent archaeo- coming ashore for provisioningand, eventually, logical or paleobotanicalevidence for Cannabis longer stays (Burney 1997; cf. Vavilov 1949). comes from Madagascar.The pollen record for Cannabis was not introducedto the New World Cannabis in lake sediment cores on this large until after 1492 A.D. island about 300 miles east of southernAfrica are derived from.several sites, with some dating NYMPHAEANOUCHALI AND MANDRAGORA OFFICINARUM back to approximately2000 YBP. "Pollen of the introducedhemp plant, Cannabissativa, first ap- The genus Nymphaeaincluded approximately pears at Lake Tritrivakelyin the Central high- 40 species found in tropical and temperatecli- lands about this time (Bumney1987a), and was mates of both hemispheres.For a variety of rea- present in a core from Lake Kavitahaabout 200 sons, much synonymy occurs. The blue water km to the northfrom the beginningof the record lily, Nymphaea caerulea Sav., is now lumped at ca. 1500 yearSB.P. "(Burney 1987b, also see with Nymphaea capensis Thunb. into Nymphaea Bumey 1988). nouchali Burm. f. var. caerulea (Sav.) Verdc This ancientevidence for the Cannabisin the (Fig. 21). SouthernHemisphere coincides roughlywith the Emboden (1978, 1981, 1989) combined artis- earliest human arrivalsin Madagascar(Austro- tic, papyri, and paleoethnobotanicalsources as nesians colonists or traders from elsewhere?) ap- evidence for ancient Egyptian use of two taxa, proximately 2,000 years ago. These early ex- the "sacred blue water lily," Nymphaeacaeru- plorersor tradersundoubtedly brought Cannabis lea (= nouchali) and the mandrake, Mandrag- along as part of their "transportedlandscape" ora officinarum(Fig. 22) in shamanisticpractic- (Anderson 1967) or "portmanteaubiota" (Cros- es. Representationsof the water lily in wall

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Fig. 21. The Blue Water Lily, Nymphaea nouchali var. Caerulea (Courtesyof William A. Emboden). Fig. 22. Mandragora officinarumfrom Matthias de L'Obel 1581, Plantarum sev Stirpium Icones, An- paintings began during the Fourth Dynasty in twerp. ancient Egypt and increased in frequency until the Eighteenth Dynasty when this lily was united with the "golden" (deep yellow when ripe) fruit opium poppy Papaver somniferum. to the of the mandrake (Fig. 23). Depictions of these priestly caste are the papyri, ".... books of the mind-altering species in Egyptian frescos were dead, books of ritual magic, and related pictorial originally interpreted as components of funeral evidence-which were never meant to be seen scenes, with the plants as offerings. However, by the public-present those same plants that more recently this graphic evidence has been in- are the vehicles to ecstasy" (Emboden 1989). terpreted, with the help of various papyri, as por- For more evidence for these three species from trayals of ritual healing: "The abundant data in- Egypt in the form of artifacts, papyri, and fresco dicate that the shamanistic priest, who was high- scenes see James (1982), Randall-Maclver and ly placed in the stratified society, guided the Wooley (1911), Quibbel and Hayter (1927), souls of the living and dead, provided for the Merrillees (1968), and Merlin (1984). transmutation of souls into other bodies and the In a recent issue of Economic Botany, Mc- personification of plants as possessed by human Donald (2002) has attempted to determine the spirits, as well as performing other shamanistic Middle Eastern Tree of Life, which he concludes activities" (Emboden 1989). is none other than "the Egyptian lotus" or "Lily The interpretation of ancient literary, artistic, of the Nile" (Nymphaea nouchali). Indeed, or artifact interpretation without actual botanical McDonald argues that we must "identify the evidence to support the identification of psycho- 'sacral tree' of Mesopotamia as a stylized lotus active drug plant use in antiquity limits a con- shoot rather than a palm tree," and that "the clusive determination. In any case, the most sig- classical lotus bud-and-blossom motif that we nificant forms of evidence that seem to link the encounter in Egypt as early as 3000 BCE and in sacred blue lily and mandrake, along with the Mesopotamia by the second millennium BCE is

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The evidence provided here should reveal the potential for such work in the future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thankthe followingpeople for kindlysharing relevant information:Corrie Bakels, David Bumey, RobertC. Clarke,Marina Ciaraldi,Maria Fugazzola, Helmut Kroll, Naomi Miller,Mark Nesbitt, ForestPitts, TimothyRieth, KarlReinhard, Giorgio Samorini, Don Ug- ent, Nikolaasvan derMerwe, Joseph Zias, andespecially the lateRichard Evans Schultesfor his inspirationand encouragementto keep tracking the ancient,traditional use of the "Plantsof the Gods."

4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 LITERATURE CITED Allegro, J. M. 1970. The sacred mushroom and the cross. Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York. Anderson, E. 1967. Plants, man, and life. 2nd Edition. University of California, Berkeley. Anthony, D. W., D. Y. Telegin, and D. Brown. 1991. The origins of horseback riding. Scientific Ameri- can. 265(Dec.):94-100. Bakels, C. 2003 Faculty of Archaeology. Universiteit Leiden, also see Bakels, C. 2003. forthcoming article in the Electronic Journal for Vedic Studies (EJVS) http://www l .shore.net/-india/ejvs/ with papers from the conference entitled "The Soma/ Fig. 23. In a scene depicting ritual healing, Se- Haoma cult in early Vedism and Zoroastrism, ed- menkhkara,who is leaning on a crutch,is offered two ited by J. E. M. Houben. mandrakefruits and a bud of Nymphaeanouchali by his consort,Meriton, who also holds more N. nouchali Bellinger, L. 1962. Textiles from Gordian. Bulletin of flowers in her left hand (colored limestone from the the Needle and Bobbin Club 46:5-33. Staatliche Mussen, Berlin-Dahlem,Courtesy of Wil- Bisset, N. G. et al. 1996. The presence of opium in a liam A. Emboden). 3,500 year old Cypriote base-ring juglet. Agypten und Levante 6. Blegen, E. P. 1936. Excavations at Gazi, Crete. Amer- widely recognized as a symbol of rebirth and ican Journal of Archaeology 40:371-73. immortal life." McDonald further asserts that Bourguignon, E., ed. 1973. Religion, altered states of through a great depth of time there has been a consciousness, and social change. Ohio University loss of ". . . our understandingof the mythic sig- Press, Columbus. nificance of the plant, and the ritualistic role it Burney, D. A. 1987a. Pre-settlement vegetation once played in the religious traditionsof our dis- changes at Lake Tritrivakely, Madagascar. Palaeoe- tant forebears." cology of Africa 18:357-381. . 1987b. Late holocene vegetational change in CONCLUSION central Madagascar. Quaternary Research 40:98- 106. The world-widechronology, biological diver- . 1988. Modern pollen spectra from Madagas- sity, and geographical range of human use of car. Paleogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoe- psychoactive drug plants are neither complete cology 66:63-75. nor unchangeable. Numerous psychoactive . 1997. Tropical islands as paleoecological lab- plants and regions are under-researchedand re- oratories: gauging the consequences of human ar- quire initial or additionalresearch on this topic. rival. Human Ecology 25(3):437-457. Many scholars would believe it to be safe to . 2003. personal communication. assume that most psychoactive plants have a Burney, D. A., G. A. Brook, and J. B. Cowart. 1994. longer history of use than that recordedhere. In A holocene pollen record for the Kalahari Desert any case, it is hoped that this paper provides a of Botswana from a U-series dated speleothem. The Holocene 4:225-232. from which other scholars starting point may Castelletti, L., and M. Rottoli. 1999. L'agricoltura build upon. With a critical application of ar- neolitica italiana. Una sintesi conoscenze attuali. In chaeology, paleobotany, anthropology,cultural A. Pessina and G. Muscia, eds., Settemila anni fa geography, history, and other research disci- il primo pane. Ambienti e culture delle societa neo- plines the picture may become more complete. litiche. University of Udine, Udine. Pages 15-24.

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