Cannabis sativa
Origin
: Central Asia
Summary
: Long used as a psychoactive drug in Asia, a signature chemical from the metabolic
breakdown of this plant in the human body has been identified in Peruvian mummies dated from AD 100
to 1500.
Transfer:
either India (via the Pacific?) or the Middl
e East (via the Atlantic?) to the Americas
Time of transfer
: no later than AD 100
Grade
: A
Sources:
Cannabis sativa
—hashish, marijuana, Indian hemp
Int. Lib. Assoc. 1996, 561. Sanskrit:
bhanga, vijaya
Chopra
et al
. 1956, 48. Sanskrit:
ganjika, bhanga
Nadkarni 1914, 77.
Cannabis sativa
. Sanskrit:
vijayâ, siddhapatri.
Hindi:
ganja
. Arabic:
kinnab
.
Native of western and central Asia. Now cultivated a
ll over India and wild in the western Himalayas and
Kashmir. The plant is sacred to the Hindus.
Zeven and de Wet 1982, 71. Center of maximum dive
rsity in Central Asia. 149. There is a wild
form in Central Asia.
Jett (2004) reprises the literature on evidence for th
e mortuary use of hashish in the New World:
“Hashish or Indian hemp (
Cannabis sativa
), a native of western Asia, carried the alkaloid delta-9*
tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). The plant (commonly called “marijuana”), which has long been popular in
the Middle East for its psychoactive effects, is
generally assumed to have been a post-Columbian
introduction to the warmer parts of the New World.
However, Parsche, Balaba
nova, and Pirsig (1992b)
found THC (along with cocaine and nicotine) in the tissues, teeth, and hair of ancient naturally
mummified bodies from both the North Coast and the South Coast of Peru—in 39 of the 60 cadavers
tested and in a corporal distribution indicating an
te-mortem use. These mummies ranged in date from
about AD 115 to AD 1500.”
74
John L. Sorenson and Carl L. Johannessen, “Scien
tific Evidence for Pre-Columb
ian Transoceanic Voyages”
Sino-Platonic Papers
, 133 (April 2004)
Balabanova, Parsche, and Pirsig 1992b. Residues from hashish and cannabis were identified
chemically in cranial hair of pre-Columbian Peruvian mummies.
Parsche, Balabanova, and Pirsig 1993, 503. They anal
yzed hair, skin, muscle, brain, teeth, and bones
from 72 Peruvian (as well as11 Egyptian ) mummies and
found chemical residues of cocaine, nicotine,
and hashish and their metabolites in both sets of mu
mmies (16 of the Peruvian corpses revealed cocaine;
26 had tobacco traces; and 20 showed hashish).
Díaz 2003, 80. Marijuana (
cannabis
) may have been introduced to Mexico during the colonial period
as a source of fiber. Shortly afterward, the plant was used for ritual purposes by indigenous groups.
Famous Mexican scientist Alzate described its ritual use with a beautiful Náhuatl name,
pipiltzintzintli
[which actually implies a pre-Columbian
use, although it does not guarantee it].
http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp133_precolumbian_voyages.pdf
Origin
: Central Asia
Summary
: Long used as a psychoactive drug in Asia, a signature chemical from the metabolic
breakdown of this plant in the human body has been identified in Peruvian mummies dated from AD 100
to 1500.
Transfer:
either India (via the Pacific?) or the Middl
e East (via the Atlantic?) to the Americas
Time of transfer
: no later than AD 100
Grade
: A
Sources:
Cannabis sativa
—hashish, marijuana, Indian hemp
Int. Lib. Assoc. 1996, 561. Sanskrit:
bhanga, vijaya
Chopra
et al
. 1956, 48. Sanskrit:
ganjika, bhanga
Nadkarni 1914, 77.
Cannabis sativa
. Sanskrit:
vijayâ, siddhapatri.
Hindi:
ganja
. Arabic:
kinnab
.
Native of western and central Asia. Now cultivated a
ll over India and wild in the western Himalayas and
Kashmir. The plant is sacred to the Hindus.
Zeven and de Wet 1982, 71. Center of maximum dive
rsity in Central Asia. 149. There is a wild
form in Central Asia.
Jett (2004) reprises the literature on evidence for th
e mortuary use of hashish in the New World:
“Hashish or Indian hemp (
Cannabis sativa
), a native of western Asia, carried the alkaloid delta-9*
tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). The plant (commonly called “marijuana”), which has long been popular in
the Middle East for its psychoactive effects, is
generally assumed to have been a post-Columbian
introduction to the warmer parts of the New World.
However, Parsche, Balaba
nova, and Pirsig (1992b)
found THC (along with cocaine and nicotine) in the tissues, teeth, and hair of ancient naturally
mummified bodies from both the North Coast and the South Coast of Peru—in 39 of the 60 cadavers
tested and in a corporal distribution indicating an
te-mortem use. These mummies ranged in date from
about AD 115 to AD 1500.”
74
John L. Sorenson and Carl L. Johannessen, “Scien
tific Evidence for Pre-Columb
ian Transoceanic Voyages”
Sino-Platonic Papers
, 133 (April 2004)
Balabanova, Parsche, and Pirsig 1992b. Residues from hashish and cannabis were identified
chemically in cranial hair of pre-Columbian Peruvian mummies.
Parsche, Balabanova, and Pirsig 1993, 503. They anal
yzed hair, skin, muscle, brain, teeth, and bones
from 72 Peruvian (as well as11 Egyptian ) mummies and
found chemical residues of cocaine, nicotine,
and hashish and their metabolites in both sets of mu
mmies (16 of the Peruvian corpses revealed cocaine;
26 had tobacco traces; and 20 showed hashish).
Díaz 2003, 80. Marijuana (
cannabis
) may have been introduced to Mexico during the colonial period
as a source of fiber. Shortly afterward, the plant was used for ritual purposes by indigenous groups.
Famous Mexican scientist Alzate described its ritual use with a beautiful Náhuatl name,
pipiltzintzintli
[which actually implies a pre-Columbian
use, although it does not guarantee it].
http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp133_precolumbian_voyages.pdf
