Mummies from Puruchuco-Huaquerones, Peru
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University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. Investigating the use of coca and other psychoactive plants in Pre-Columbian mummies from Chile and Peru An analytical investigation into the feasibility of testing ancient hair for drug compounds Emma Louise BROWN Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Archaeological Sciences University of Bradford 2012 Abstract Investigating the use of coca and other psychoactive plants in Pre-Columbian mummies from Chile and Peru Emma Louise Brown Psychoactive plants have played a significant role in Andean cultures for millennia. Whilst there is evidence of the importance of psychoactive plants in the Andean archaeological record, none of these are direct proof that these culturally significant plants were used by ancient Andean populations. This project utilised liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to investigate the use of psychoactive plants in individuals from cemetery sites in Chile and Peru by analysing hair specimens for a variety of psychoactive compounds. Hair specimens from 46 individuals buried at cemetery sites in the Azapa Valley (northern Chile) belonging to the Cabuza culture (c AD 300 – 1000) indicated around half of these people ingested coca, as evidenced by the detection of BZE in hair specimens. Two individuals from this population tested positive for bufotenine, the main alkaloid in Anadenanthera snuff. There is a specific material culture associated with snuffing. These findings confirm Anadenanthera was consumed in the Azapa Valley. The 11 individuals from Peru came from the necropolis at Puruchuco-Huaquerones in the Rímac valley near Lima. These individuals belonged to the Ichma culture, but would have been under Inca imperial control during the Late Horizon. Although only a i small sample, two-thirds tested positive for BZE, suggestive that access to coca was widespread. This project presents a synthesis of the archaeological evidence for the use of various psychoactive plants in Andes. Also presented is the first report of the detection of bufotenine in ancient hair samples and additional data contributing to the understanding of the use of coca in the Andes. Key words: Inca, Cabuza, LC-MS/MS, human remains, coca, bufotenine, bioarchaeology ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, immense thanks to my principal supervisor Dr. Andrew Wilson. His advice and feedback have been invaluable, and it has been a pleasure to work with someone of his level of expertise. My associate supervisors, Dr. Ben Stern, Mr. Rob Janaway and Dr. Timothy Taylor have provided complementary support. They have always made time for me when I have had a problem to solve or an idea to discuss. My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues on the Digitised Diseases project, for their support, patience and encouragement whilst I took a month off to finish writing in August 2012; specifically the project CO-Is Dr. Jo Buckberry, Dr. Chris Gaffney (Archaeological Sciences) and Professor Hassan Ugail (School of Visual Computing) and the Bradford project team: Dr. Keith Manchester, Mr. Andy Holland, Dr. Rebecca Storm, Dr. Alan Ogden, Mr. Tom Sparrow, Mr. David Keenan and Mr. Pawel Eliasz. Other members of staff in Archaeological Sciences have provided me with support during the lifetime of this project: Dr. Randy Donahue provided funds from the Palaeopharmacology Research fund that helped buy analytical standards; Dr. Cathy Batt discussed scientific dating with me; Professor Holger Schutkowski (now at the University of Bournemouth) leant me books and put me in contact with museums that had collections of Andean mummies; Professor Chris Knüsel (now at the University of Exeter) provided me with encouragement to pursue doctoral studies and supported my application to the AHRC for funding. iii Technical support is crucial in any kind of scientific work. Andrew Healey, the instrument technician for the LC-MS/MS has been brilliant, particularly when the instrument was being temperamental. He was always on hand to provide advice and took a genuine interest in my research, as did Dr. Richard Telford. Dennis Farwell helped me maintain the log for compliance with UK drugs regulations, whilst Belinda Hill and Andrew Gledhill helped me find solvents and change gas cylinders over in Phoenix SW. My thanks also go to the staff from the School of Pharmacy, particularly Professor Anna Nicolaou, for letting me have the opportunity to use the LC-MS/MS. The postdoctoral researchers in the School of Pharmacy, particularly Dr. Karen Massey and Dr. Paula Urquhart, have also been extremely supportive. They scheduled instrument time and provided advice and helpful chromatography tips. This project would not have been possible without the generosity of Dr. Arthur Aufderheide, Emeritus Professor at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, who provided the majority of the hair samples from his own extensive collection. He also provided original site reports, radiocarbon dating reports, contextual information and original photographs. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a distinguished scientist and mummy expert. Dr. Paola Ponce was extremely generous in sharing her thesis and contextual information for the Azapa Valley cemeteries. Dr. Jocelyn Williams, of Trent University, Ontario is also worthy of immense thanks, for allowing me to test hair samples from Puruchuco-Huaquerones. Her enthusiasm and excitement about my work has also been really encouraging. iv The staff of the J.B. Priestley Library interlibrary loans service must be acknowledged for their help in getting me ever increasing obscure Spanish language site reports and old ethnobotany papers. Sarah George, the Archaeological Sciences academic subject librarian, facilitated the purchase of a number of useful books and always had advice on where to find relevant literature on the internet. Martin Levy, of Special Collection in the J.B. Priestly Library helped facilitate access to the Calvin Wells Collection, which contained a number of rare books that proved exceedingly useful throughout my research. Friends at other institutions also helped me get material that I needed. Special thanks go to Laura White (Texas A&M University), Dr. Becki Scott (University of Leuven), Arne Anderson Stamnes (NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet), Geraldine Fahy (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology), Becky Knight and Pat Hadley (University of York). The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) provided me with a 3-year studentship and additional travel funds that enabled me to attend Mummy Congresses in Bolzano and San Diego. The Andy Jagger and Francis Raymond Hudson funds at the University of Bradford also supported conference attendance. Thanks are also due to my examiners, Professor Carl Heron (University of Bradford) and Professor Don Brothwell (University of York) whose comments and suggestions have improved my thesis. Thanks also to Professor Marianne Hardy, who chaired my viva on February 13th 2013. Finally I thank my Mum and Dad, Christine and Steven Brown, and my sister Jessica, the best family anyone could wish for. v Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 Preamble .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Statement of Project aims & thesis outline ...................................................... 3 1.1.1. Project Aims ................................................................................................ 3 1.1.2. Objectives ................................................................................................... 4 1.1.3. Thesis Outline ............................................................................................. 5 1.2. Geography, Climate & Environmental Conditions ............................................ 7 1.2.1. Ecological Zones in Peru and Chile ............................................................. 7 1.2.2. The Peru Current and El Niño ................................................................... 10 1.2.3. Location of sites and research samples .................................................... 12 1.3. Andean Chronologies ...................................................................................... 13 1.4. The Colonial Period & the ‘Spanish Chronicles’ .............................................. 17 1.5. Summary .......................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2: Botany and Ethnography: South American psychoactive plants ......... 19 2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 19 2.2. Anadenanthera and Virola .............................................................................. 21 2.2.1. Habitat and distribution............................................................................ 21 2.2.2. Snuff preparation ...................................................................................... 22 2.2.3. Cultural significance .................................................................................. 24 2.3. Banisteriopsis & Psychotria (Ayahuasca) .......................................................