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Heavy hallucinogenic rituals solidified social castes in Pre-Incan Peru

Andrew Paul

created: May 5, 2025, 7 p.m. | updated: May 15, 2025, 6:52 p.m.

The mighty Incan empire wasn’t the first society to spread across the Andes Mountains—2,000 years earlier, there were the Chavín. Snuff tubes carved from hollow bones and used to inhale tobacco and hallucinogenic vilca. Credit: Daniel ContrerasSome of the most recent finds here include a set of ancient snuff tubes carved from bone stored in small private chambers. Shamanistic rituals involving DMT have been documented across multiple cultures in South America—and now it’s evidence in Chavín. A rendering of the chamber, or gallery, where the snuff tubes were discovered.

2 months, 4 weeks ago: Popular Science