Inside 3,000-year-old ‘drug den' where humans used BONES to take hallucinogens in ‘terrifying' mystery ritual of visions
The long-abandoned drug den was where ancient Andeans would consume hallucinogens as part of strange "vision-seeing" rituals.
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Ancient chambers that could only hold a few people at a time were used for consuming hallucinogens
Credit: Rick et al., PNAS, 2025
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The chambers were an exclusive space where "terrifying" drug-fuelled vision-seeing rituals were held
Credit: Daniel Contreras
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Ancient Andeans would use carved hollowed-out bone tools to take drugs
Credit: Daniel Contreras
This "Chavín" society lived in the Andes two thousand years before the Inca empire.
And scientists say these lesser-known people "access to altered states of consciousness" by taking psychedelics.
Scientists say the drug-consuming bone tools are the earliest evidence of the use of "psychoactive plants" in the Peruvian Andes.
The hollow bones were turned into ancient snuff tubes, and were found in stone chambers inside a prehistoric ritual site.
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It's called Chavín de Huántar, a ceremonial site high up in the mountains of
They would conduct "exclusive rituals" inside private chambers that could only hold a few people at a time.
Researchers say this would've created an "air of mystique and control".
"Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions," said
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"It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy."
These chambers were contained inside massive stone structures at the site – and were built around 3,000 years ago, before being sealed 500 years later.
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And they would've had "profound, even terrifying" experiences after taking the drugs.
"To those who inhaled, the supernatural might have felt like a force beyond comprehension," the University of Florida explained.
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"And that was precisely the point.
"By controlling access to these altered states, Chavín's rulers established a potent ideology.
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The chambers were tucked inside monument stone structures at Chavín de Huántar
Credit: Daniel Contreras
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The purpose of Chavín de Huántar and its rituals have long been a mystery
Credit: Daniel Contreras
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The Chavín de Huántar archaeological site sits at an elevation of 10,000 feet
Credit: Daniel Contreras
"And convinced their people that their leadership was intertwined with mystical
power
and part of the natural order."
Evidence of nicotine from wild relatives of tobacco was found, as well as vilca bean residue, which is a hallucinogen related to DMT.
Researchers believed that the rituals were used to reinforce the authority of leaders and create a class structure.
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'The supernatural world isn't necessarily friendly, but it's powerful,' Contreras, of the University of Florida, explained.
Picture Credit:
"These rituals, often enhanced by psychoactives, were compelling, transformative experiences that reinforced belief systems and social structures."
Trumpets made from conch shells were also found at the site.
And researchers think that the chambers were designed to "enhance" musical performances using these trumpets.
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"One of the ways that inequality was justified or naturalized was through ideology," Contreras said.
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The Chavín people long predate the Incan Empire
Credit: Wikipedia
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Traces of drugs were found on the bone tools used by these ancient people
Credit: Rick et al., PNAS, 2025
"Through the creation of impressive ceremonial experiences that made people believe this whole project was a good idea."
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Contreras added: "It's exciting that ongoing excavations can be combined with cutting-edge archaeological science techniques to get us closer to understanding what it was like to live at this site."
This research was published in the journal PNAS.
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