Farming, crafts, and trade all helped establish the foundation of a South American society known as the Chavin Phenomenon, which predated the Incas by about 2,000 years.

But there was one more ingredient that tied it all together — hallucinogens. Unlike the other three elements, consuming mind-altering substances wasn’t a shared, communal experience, but rather a source for the leader’s power based on mystical visions, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions,” Daniel Contreras, a University of Florida anthropologist and co-author of the study, said in a press release. “It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy.”

Ancient Hallucinogens and the Chavín People

A cache of ancient snuff tubes carved from hollow bones lies at the heart of this finding. Archeologists found them within a massive stone structure that the Chavín people evidently used as a ceremonial site in the mountains of Peru.

Researchers analyzed the snuff tube contents and found traces of nicotine from wild relatives of the tobacco plant. They also discovered vilca bean residue, a hallucinogen related to DMT.

The researchers believe that the location of the tubes tells a story of communal control. They were found in small chambers deep within the stone structures. That level of privacy and separation from the larger community probably lent any rituals there an aura of mystery and control.

“Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions,” Daniel Contreras, a UF archeologist and co-author of the study, said in a press release. “It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy.”

Read More: Unraveling the Mysterious Traditions Within Chavín de Huántar

Psychedelic Experiences and Control

The researchers speculate that the rulers drew upon their psychedelic experiences as a way to first experience what felt like the supernatural, then use the that experience as a way to exert control. It’s possible the rulers drew upon their hallucinations to create an ideology based on mysticism.

“The supernatural world isn’t necessarily friendly, but it’s powerful,” Contreras said in the release. “These rituals, often enhanced by psychoactives, were compelling, transformative experiences that reinforced belief systems and social structures.”

In the paper, the authors argue that access to ceremonies helped shape the society’s class structure. People who ingested the substance were at the highest level of society, people who witnessed and participated may have been a rung lower, and people who were left were among the lowest.

“One of the ways that inequality was justified or naturalized was through ideology — through the creation of impressive ceremonial experiences that made people believe this whole project was a good idea,” Contreras said in the release.

Read More: Preceding the Inca, This Andean ‘Stonehenge’ Was a Space for Ceremony and Ritual

Article Sources

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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.