Earliest Evidence of Psychoactive Substance Use Found in Tomb
Archaeologists working in the Tabuk province of Arabia have found the earliest documented evidence of the ritual application of a psychoactive substance, according to a new study published in Communications Biology.While investigating a tomb comprising several rooms at the oasis settlement of Qurayyah, scientists came across organic residue inside stone burners and fumigation equipment found throughout the crypt. During an analysis, they were able to identify three extremely potent beta-carboline alkaloids—harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine—by using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Those alkaloids were chemical signatures of Peganum harmala, which contains psychoactive and anti-inflammatory properties and is still used throughout the Middle East and Central Asia as a medical remedy. The researchers believe that, in addition to being buried with the deceased, Peganum harmala was smoked as part of visionary or purification rituals, which took place after burials."This is the first direct chemical proof of Syrian rue being used in a funerary context anywhere in the world," said lead author Barbara Huber. "Our results demonstrate that individuals in Iron Age Arabia were already experimenting with sophisticated plant-based pharmacologies, not just for healing, but for ritual and sensory transformation."
Marta Luciani, the dig's co-director, agreed. "This totally reworks our perception of early Arabian cultures," she explained. 'It represents a cognitive and cultural level of sophistication, where religious and therapeutic spheres interacted in significant, ritualized contexts."The discovery recontextualizes what many researchers thought about Arabian societies, revealing that they were engaged in similar ritualistic practices to cultures in Central Asia, South America, and the Indus Valley. "We are not preserving artifacts, said Ahmed M. Abualhassan, of the Saudi Heritage Commission. 'We are restoring wisdom that continues to reside in oral traditions, domestic habit, and ancestral rituals.'Earliest Evidence of Psychoactive Substance Use Found in Tomb first appeared on Men's Journal on May 29, 2025
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