Rewritten Article:

In the highlands of Peru, two thousand years before the Inca empire rose to power, a lesser-known society known as the Chavín Phenomenon flourished. This enigmatic culture left behind a rich legacy of art, architecture, and materials that spanned modern-day Peru. Through innovative agriculture, craft production, and trade, Chavín built a growing social order and laid the foundations for hierarchical societies among the Andes’ highest peaks.

But one of their most powerful tools wasn’t farming – it was access to altered states of consciousness. A recent study has uncovered the earliest-known direct evidence of psychoactive plant use in the Peruvian Andes, shedding light on the ritualistic practices that shaped this ancient society.

Researchers from the University of Florida, Stanford University, and South American institutions discovered ancient snuff tubes carved from hollow bones at the heart of monumental stone structures at Chavín de Huántar, a prehistoric ceremonial site. By conducting chemical and microscopic analyses, they revealed traces of nicotine from wild relatives of tobacco and vilca bean residue, a hallucinogen related to DMT.

These substances were not used for personal visions but as part of tightly controlled rituals that reinforced the social hierarchy. Unlike communal hallucinogenic use common in other ancient cultures, Chavín’s rituals were exclusive, with snuff tubes found in private chambers within massive stone structures that held only a handful of participants at a time.

“Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions,” said Daniel Contreras, Ph.D., an anthropological archaeologist at UF and co-author of the study. “It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy.”

These experiences were likely profound and even terrifying, with the supernatural world feeling like a force beyond comprehension. By controlling access to these altered states, Chavín’s rulers established a potent ideology that convinced their people that their leadership was intertwined with mystical power and part of the natural order.

The study also uncovered trumpets made from conch shells and chambers seemingly designed to enhance awe-inducing musical performances. These rituals extended beyond the use of psychedelics, creating immersive experiences that reinforced belief systems and social structures.

“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.

Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, helps solve a century-old mystery about this site. Since its first excavation over a hundred years ago, Chavín has been seen as related to both earlier, more egalitarian societies and the mountain-spanning empires ruled by powerful elites that came later.

Controlled access to mystical experiences explains this major social transition, a finding only made possible by decades of intense excavations and advanced analytical methods. As Contreras noted, “It’s exciting that ongoing excavations can be combined with cutting-edge archaeological science techniques to get us closer to understanding what it was like to live at this site.”

The study reveals that three consecutive years of drought contributed to the ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’, a pivotal moment in the history of Roman Britain. Researchers argue that peripheral tribes took advantage of famine and societal breakdown caused by an extreme period of drought to inflict crushing blows on weakened Roman defences in 367 CE.

The researchers used oak tree-ring records to reconstruct temperature and precipitation levels in southern Britain during and after the ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’. They found that southern Britain experienced an exceptional sequence of remarkably dry summers from 364 to 366 CE, with average monthly reconstructed rainfall in the main growing season (April-July) falling to just 29mm in 364 CE.

The drought-driven grain deficits would have reduced the grain supply to Hadrian’s Wall, providing a plausible motive for the rebellion there which allowed the Picts into northern Britain. The study suggests that given the crucial role of grain in the contract between soldiers and the army, grain deficits may have contributed to other desertions in this period.

The researchers argue that military and societal breakdown in Roman Britain provided an ideal opportunity for peripheral tribes, including the Picts, Scotti, and Saxons, to invade the province en masse with the intention of raiding rather than conquest. Their finding that the most severe conditions were restricted to southern Britain undermines the idea that famines in other provinces might have forced these tribes to invade.

Ultimately, the researchers argue that extreme climate conditions lead to hunger, which can lead to societal challenges, and eventually outright conflict. The relationship between climate and conflict is becoming increasingly clear in our own time, making these findings relevant not only for historians but also for policymakers and researchers today.

In the depths of the last Ice Age, humans relied heavily on fire to survive. Whether for cooking, heating, or social gatherings, fire was an essential tool that played a crucial role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers. However, despite its importance, surprisingly little well-preserved evidence of fire use has been found from the coldest period of the Ice Age in Europe.

A team of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has now shed some light on this mystery through an analysis of three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine. The results, published in the journal Geoarchaeology, show that people during the last Ice Age built different types of hearths and used mainly wood, but possibly also bones and fat, to fuel their fires.

The discovery is significant because it reveals a sophisticated mastery of pyrotechnics even in the face of extreme environmental stresses. The analysis shows that humans reached temperatures of more than 600°C, which was possible through careful control and management of fire. This suggests that hunter-gatherers not only used fire for warmth but also as a tool for cooking, making tools, and social gatherings.

One of the most interesting findings is that the three hearths are open and flat, with one being larger and thicker than the others. This suggests that higher temperatures were achieved in this particular fireplace, possibly indicating that people knew how to use fire in different ways depending on its purpose. The analysis also shows that humans used wood as their main fuel during the peak of the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood.

The study’s lead author, William Murphree, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve, notes that despite these new findings, the small number of fireplaces from the Last Glacial Maximum remains puzzling. “Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?” he asks. “Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?”

By further uncovering the role of fire in human evolution, researchers hope to shed light on what is arguably one of the most fundamental technologies that has shaped our species’ success in populating every corner of this planet. The discovery highlights the importance of continued research into the past, and the many secrets that still remain hidden in the archaeological record.