Shamanism and San Pedro through Time: Some Notes on the Archaeology, History, and Continued Use of an Entheogen in Northern Peru
Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-3537.2010.01021.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism Mescaline |
| Keywords | Ethnography Worship Folklore Archaeological evidence Archaeology Anthropology Ethnology Theology |
| Citations | 34 |
| Key points | Argues that the San Pedro cactus has been used continuously for over 2000 years in northern Peru as a shamanic tool for healing and accessing spiritual realms, challenging its contemporary classification as a recreational drug. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper discusses archaeological, historical, and contemporary ethnographic evidence for the use of the San Pedro cactus in northern Peru as a vehicle for traveling between worlds and for imparting the “vista” (magical sight) necessary for shamanic healers to divine the cause of their patients' ailments. Using iconographic, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence for the uninterrupted use of this sacred plant as a means of access to the Divine and as a tool for healing, it describes the relationship between San Pedro, ancestor worship, water/fertility cults and also the common symbolic associations between San Pedro and wind‐spirits. It closes by suggesting that the more than 2000 year time‐depth of using this plant as a means for accessing the realms of Spirit and as a tool for healing should serve to challenge the unfortunate tendency in the contemporary United States to consider this plant as a “recreational drug.”
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research | 1954 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Thought insertion as a self-disturbance: An integration of predictive coding and phenomenological approaches | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Entactogens: How the Name for a Novel Class of Psychoactive Agents Originated | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Steric and Electronic Relationships among Some Hallucinogenic Compounds | 1970 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| EFFECT OF DRUGS One individual | 1952 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 16
- Chemical evidence for the use of multiple psychotropic plants in a 1,000-year-old ritual bundle from South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 4, 2019
- Comparative acute effects of mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide, and psilocybin in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study in healthy participants. Neuropsychopharmacology October 1, 2023
- Conceptual Systems Theory: A Neglected Perspective for the Anthropology of Consciousness Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2017
- Altered States of Consciousness During Ceremonial San Pedro Use International Journal for the Psychology of Religion December 5, 2022
- Anthropology of Psychedelics Anthropology of Consciousness April 20, 2025
and 11 more in the library