Zariadris
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Edited Jun 15, 2019, 07:28
"Scientists Find Ancient Humans Used Weed 2,500 Years Ago, Too"
Jun 15, 2019, 07:03
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The Arch Drude was really onto something when he sang "They Were on Hard Drugs".
This breaking news from the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/health/cannabis-anicent-dead-marijuana.html?action=click&module=Discovery&pgtype=Homepage
Highlights:
“The fact that strongly psychoactive ancient residue has been documented in laboratory testing is the key new finding,” said Dr. Merlin, a cannabis historian. He hypothesized that “It was used to facilitate the body communicating with the afterlife, the spirit world.”
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“We can start to piece together an image of funerary rites that included flames, rhythmic music and hallucinogen smoke, all intended to guide people into an altered state of mind,” the authors wrote in the study.
'Ancient mourners apparently created the smoke by placing hot stones in wooden braziers — receptacles for flaming objects — and laying in cannabis plants, the researchers wrote.
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At yet another grave, also about 2,400 to 2,800 years old, in the dry desert of Xinjiang, researchers recently discovered a man about six feet tall buried with “13 cannabis plants gathered at their base and spread across his breast like a bouquet of roses,” Dr. Merlin said. The array has also been described as a “cannabis shroud.”
“I think the evidence from the Pamir site connects cannabis as a ‘plant of the gods,’ ” he said. “And that people recognized for it to be effective, you had to cook or burn it.”
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Zariadris
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Re: Scientists Find Ancient Humans Used Weed 2,500 Years Ago, Too
Jun 15, 2019, 07:25
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...and you gotta love Dr. Merlin! You can't make this stuff up.
Both "Dr. Merlin" and "Cannabis Shroud" would make great band names for some doom metal act, or titles for a Sleep lp. Would someone please forward this to Al Cisneros and co?
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tjj
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Re: Scientists Find Ancient Humans Used Weed 2,500 Years Ago, Too
Jun 15, 2019, 10:44
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Zariadris wrote: ...and you gotta love Dr. Merlin! You can't make this stuff up.
Yes you can ... the name anyway. Your news article is not really that surprising, especially in the areas where cannabis/marijuana grows naturally and wild. There is evidence of other herbs being buried with the ancient dead as part of the funerary rights ... can't remember which ones at the moment (though rosemary comes to mind).
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Zariadris
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Edited Jun 15, 2019, 12:11
Re: Scientists Find Ancient Humans Used Weed 2,500 Years Ago, Too
Jun 15, 2019, 12:06
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tjj wrote: Zariadris wrote: ...and you gotta love Dr. Merlin! You can't make this stuff up.
Yes you can ... the name anyway. Your news article is not really that surprising, especially in the areas where cannabis/marijuana grows naturally and wild. There is evidence of other herbs being buried with the ancient dead as part of the funerary rights ... can't remember which ones at the moment (though rosemary comes to mind).
Very interesting observation about rosemary. Thanks man. Got me looking around and found the following relating mainly to the Elizabethan period - let me know if you find anything on prehistoric practice:
"Sprigs of rosemary were often carried by people in the funeral procession and cast onto the coffin before burial, much as roses are today. And as an evergreen plant, rosemary was associated with eternal life. As a fragrant herb, it was also often placed inside coffins to conceal any odours that might be emerging from the corpse. This was important because bodies often lay in state for days and sometimes weeks before burial, while preparations were made and mourners travelled to attend the funeral."
http://theconversation.com/nine-weird-and-wonderful-facts-about-death-and-funeral-practices-70465
"Those in mourning would have been easily identified by their dress during the Elizabethan period. If the family was very wealthy, they may even provide black clothing for professional mourners. Black dresses, pins, stockings, gloves, and sprigs of rosemary in a hatband were all visible signals that a person was in mourning. Mourning rings were also a part of Elizabethan funeral traditions. Made to memorialize death, they often featured skulls, coffins, or crosses."
https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/society/shakespeare/
"Rosemary is commonly recognized as a symbol of remembrance - even Shakespeare noted its emblematic qualities in Hamlet . Sprigs of rosemary were used in ancient times, laid at gravesites to demonstrate loyalty."
http://www.funeralplanning101.com/memorial-gifts/rosemary.aspx
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