Bronze-age shamans in Menorca used hallucinogenic drugs, study shows.

Researchers have found evidence of ancient drug use in Europe during bronze age ceremonies in Menorca, Spain. Strands of human hair from a burial site indicate that hallucinogenic drugs derived from plants were used as part of ritualistic ceremonies. The psychoactive substances detected in this study are not suitable for alleviating pain, indicating that their handling, use, and applications represented highly specialized knowledge typically possessed by shamans. The presence of these substances may have been due to consumption of some nightshade plants and joint pine. The wooden containers they were found in may have depicted eyes and could have symbolized inner vision related to a drug-induced altered state of consciousness.