Ancient European Humans Used Hallucinogenic Drugs, Study Finds.
Scientists have found evidence of psychoactive drug use during the Bronze Age in Europe, through the discovery of alkaloid substances in strands of human hair dating back 3,000 years. The hair was found in a burial cave in Menorca, Spain, along with other funerary artifacts. The compounds detected in the hair are produced by plants that grow on Menorca, such as devil’s snare, white henbane, mandrake, and joint pine. The discovery could shed light on how ritual drug use may have defined certain roles in prehistoric European societies.