Latest news with #Peganumharmala
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
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 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
CairoScene
25-05-2025
- Science
- CairoScene
Oldest Known Use of Harmal Unearthed in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk Region
Harmal residue discovered in a 2,700-year-old tomb offers rare insight into Iron Age Arabian culture. A new study published in Communications Biology has revealed the earliest known use of the harmal plant (Peganum harmala) in the Arabian Peninsula, dating back approximately 2,700 years. The discovery was made at the ancient Midianite site of Qurayyah in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk region, where archaeologists recovered charred remains of the plant from a burial context. Led by Saudi Arabia's Heritage Commission in collaboration with Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Vienna, the research team used advanced chemical analysis—including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry—to detect alkaloids specific to Peganum harmala. The plant, widely known for its psychoactive and antibacterial properties, has long been used in traditional healing and rituals across the Middle East. The presence of harmal in an Iron Age tomb suggests that it served both medicinal and ceremonial functions, pointing to a complex understanding of botanical pharmacology in ancient Arabia. The study not only provides rare physical evidence of plant-based medicine from the Iron Age, but also adds to emerging research that links cultural practice with early scientific knowledge in the region.
