Bronze Age people got high on drugs in cave rituals on the Balearic Islands, study finds
BRONZE Age people got high on drugs in cave rituals on the Balearic Islands, a study found.
Scientists found proof of hallucinogens and stimulants in 3,000-year-old hair samples from Menorca — a neighbour of modern party hotspots Ibiza and Magaluf.
They believe trippy plants were eaten during “ritualistic ceremonies” led by a shaman.
The hairs had been dyed red and put in boxes decorated with concentric circles, thought to represent eyes, in a cave tomb.
Chemical analysis found atropine and ephedrine in the hair.
Atropine can trigger hallucinations.
Ephedrine is a stimulant and is used to make modern-day crystal meth.
Professor Elisa Guerra-Doce, from the University of Valladolid in Spain, said it is the first direct evidence of prehistoric drug use in Europe.
Her study, published in journal Scientific Reports, said the users may have been in a “drug-induced altered state of consciousness”.