Plant hallucinogens, shamanism and Nazca ceramics.
M Dobkin de Rios, M Cardenas
Journal of Ethnopharmacology September 1980 DOI: 10.1016/s0378-8741(80)81003-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Nazca ceramics and ceramic art (ancient Nazca people of the south coast of Peru, 100–800 AD) |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Nazca ceramics depict shamanic religious ritualism involving plant hallucinogens and stimulants (Trichocereus pachanoi, Erythroxylon coca, Datura spp., Anadenanthera peregrina), with personal ecstasy serving as a means of contact with the supernatural for regional religious-political leaders. Identifies and summarizes world-wide shamanic themes linked to plant hallucinogen ingestion and delineates their representation in Nazca ceramic art. |
Abstract
The ceramics of the ancient Nazca, an extinct people that lived on the south coast of Peru from 100 to 800 AD, are examined. It is suggested that plant hallucinogens and stimulants including Trichocereus pachanoi, Erythroxylon coca, Datura spp., and Anadenanthera peregrina were utilized in religious ritualism connected with shamanism, stressing personal ecstasy as a means of contact with the supernatural on the part of regional religious-political leaders. Shamanic themes linked to world-wide plant hallucinogenic ingestion are identified and summarized, and their representation in Nazca ceramic art delineated.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |