This cuneiform text dates back to the 6th year ofprince Lugalanda who ruled about 2370 B.C. in southern Mesopotamia.It is an administrative document concerning deliveries of three sorts of beer to different recipients

In prehistoric Eurasia,drugs and alcohol were originally reserved for ritual ceremonies, and weren'tused merely to satisfy hedonistic motives, a new study suggests. What's more,given the sacred role of the substances, their use was likely highly regulatedand only available to elite citizens.

Many Eurasian cultures are known to have anancient history with psychoactive substances, as evidenced by early writtendocuments. The Greek historian Herodotus, for example, once described theScythians' (Iranian equestrian tribes) post-funeral purification ceremonyinvolving hemp, which dates back to the fifth century B.C.

But written records aren't the onlyindication of early drug and alcohol use.

"It is generally thought thatmind-altering substances, or at least drugs, are a modern-day issue, but if welook at the archaeological record of prehistoric Europe, there are many datasupporting their consumption," said study author Elisa Guerra-Doce, aprehistory expert at the University of Valladolid in Spain. "Apart fromthe presence of macrofossil remains of plants with these [mind-altering]properties, there are artistic depictions of opium poppies, for instance, andsome designs in megalithic tombs may have been inspired by altered states ofconsciousness."

Despite numerous indications,archaeologists have largely overlooked the use of mind-altering substances inEurasian prehistory. So Guerra-Doce decided to sort through the scarce andscattered information in the scientific literature, in hopes of gaining abetter understanding of the history and context of ancient drug and alcoholuse.

She reviewed four lines of evidence:macrofossil remains of psychoactive plants, residues from fermented alcoholicdrinks, psychoactive alkaloids (chemical compounds) on artifacts and skeletalremains, and artistic depictions of psychoactive plants and drinking scenes.

Widespread use

In prehistoric sites throughout Europe, archaeologists have found the remains of numerouspsychoactive plant and fungi species, including opium poppy, deadly nightshade,hallucinogenic mushrooms and ergot fungus. However, it's not always possible todetermine how people used the substances, if they did at all.

For instance, at a Neanderthal burial caveat Shanidar, in northern Iraqdating to around 60,000 B.C., researchers discovered the remains of manymedical plant species, suggesting the grave belonged to a shaman. But otherscientists argue that a gerbil-like rodent called the Persian jird may havebrought the plants into the cave after the Neanderthal there had died.

Yet many archaeobotanical finds providestrong evidence for the prehistoric use of mind-altering substances. Inparticular, at an archaeological site near Bucharest, Romania,scientists found charred Cannabis seeds from plants in some tombs. The mainpsychoactive compound of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol(THC), which is mostabundant in the female plants (Cannabis plants are typically either male orfemale, with male plants producing pollen that pollinates the seed-producingflowers of the female plant)."The presence of burnt seeds in these tombsproves that the prehistoric societies of eastern Europe were aware of this, andconsequently, they burnt female plants," Guerra-Doce told Live Science.

Alcoholic residues suggest many prehistoricEurasians drank fruit wines, mead, beer (from barley and wheat) and fermenteddrinks made from dairy products.

The discovery of alcoholic fermentationappears to date back to about 7000 B.C. in China. By 5000 B.C., people in theZagros Mountains of northwestern Iran drank wine instilled with pineresin (for its preservative or medicinal properties). And at a site insoutheastern Armeniadating to 4000 B.C., scientists unearthed a fully equipped winery — they thinkthe wine was made for mortuary practices, considering there were 20 burialgraves, which contained drinking cups, next to the winemaking facility.

Importantly, though some pottery fragmentscontaining residues of beer and wine come from settlements, most actually comefrom burial sites. "Many tombs have provided traces of alcoholic drinksand drugs," Guerra-Doce said. "I think these substances were used toaid in communication with the spirit world."

Some artistic representations also hint atceremonial drug and alcohol use in prehistory. One of the most revealing itemsmay be a 30-inch-tall (76 centimeters) terracotta figurineknown as the"Poppy Goddess." The figurine, found in an almost 3000-year-old cultchamber in Crete, depicts a bare-breastedwoman with upraised arms and a head bearing three movable hairpins shaped likepoppy capsules. Certain features of the capsules suggest how opium may havebeen extracted, and the figurine displays a serene facial expression, whichsome experts interpret as depicting a trancelike state gained from inhalingopium fumes.

Only for the elite?

Guerra-Doce's analysis further suggeststhat psychoactive substances may have been reserved for the elite. "Themain evidence to support that idea is the archaeological contexts where theyhave been found: tombs of high-status individuals and restricted ceremonialplaces," she said.

For example, at a Bronze Age cemetery insoutheastern Spain,archaeologists have found psychoactive alkaloids of opiates in tombs of theupper class. Similarly, a luxurious tomb in another area of Spain containedevidence of the hallucinogenic alkaloid hyoscyamine, which comes from thenightshade family of plants.

Alcohol also seems to have been mainly forthe upper class. One of the most impressive examples comes from the so-calledHochdorf Chieftain's Grave in Germany— a Celtic burial chamber for a 40-year-old man that dates to around 530 B.C.In the princely tomb, researchers found an enormous bronze cauldron from Greece thatcontained 350 liters (92 gallons) of mead.

"I think that prior to a large-scaleproduction, [alcoholic drinks] were reserved for special events, and theyplayed a similar role as drug plants," Guerra-Doce said.After large-scaleproduction became possible, alcohol likely became available to many people (notjust elites), and its use shifted from ritualistic to hedonistic in nature, sheadded.

Drug plants, on the other hand, were nevercultivated on a large scale. And though they were also eventually consumed forhedonistic purposes, this use is difficult to observe in the archaeological record,Guerra-Doce said. "Interestingly, the common names of some of these plantsrefer to madness, to evil spirits, to harmful effects, so I think a taboo wasimposed in order to avoid their use for hedonistic purposes," shesaid.