"The supernatural world isn't necessarily friendly, but it's powerful," said Daniel Contreras, an anthropological archaeologist at the University of Florida. A recent study reveals that the distant ancestors of the Inca used psychoactive plants as a political tool.
Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered bone tubes coated with traces of mind-altering snuff. This shows that Chavín lords used controlled visions to cement their rule almost three millennia ago.
The research, led by the University of Florida and Stanford University, analyzed artifacts from Chavín de Huántar. Inside hidden chambers, they found inhalation tubes containing nicotine from wild tobacco and residue from vilca beans, related to DMT.
The placement of the tubes suggests exclusive ceremonies, reinforcing social hierarchy. Chavín architecture already distorted light and amplified sounds, creating an overwhelming sensory experience.
By staging these events, leaders wrapped their authority in cosmic mystery. Participants emerged convinced that social rank served a higher design.
Control over sacred knowledge, including plant lore, helped elites turn soft power into hard architecture and coordinated labor. The study, published in PNAS, bridges the gap between egalitarian hamlets and vast empires.
Today, visitors walk through restored corridors where carved fangs still pierce the dim light. Knowing that priests inhaled potent smoke here changes how we read those walls.
The bone tubes remind us that chemistry, belief, and social order have long been intertwined. In the high Andes, altered consciousness was statecraft written in breath and stone.