Archaeology – September-October 2019

12 ARCHAEOLOGY • September/October 2019

FROM THE TRENCHES

HALF IN THE BAG

A

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in southwest Bolivia has been found to contain a truly

impressive array of psychotropic substances. On the

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vilca or cebil, and Banisteriopsis caapi, which is used to prepare

the concoction known as ayahuasca. The bundle, which was

retrieved from a cave in 2010 , included an anthropomorphic

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snouts. The leather bag has been radiocarbon dated to between

$' 905 and 1170. During this time, the Tiwanaku culture,

which dominated much of the southern and central Andes from

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collapsed. “We know that during the Tiwanaku period, the

consumption of hallucinogens was an important component of

the religious system,” says Penn State University archaeologist

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gathered by shamans who traveled long distances and tapped

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species and accumulate knowledge of varied preparations.

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Leather bag

Snuff tablet

Snuff tablet

Snuff tube Fox-snout pouch

Camelid-bone spatulas