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Drug Abuse via Enema

February 15th, 2008 · No Comments

In Jared Diamond’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee, on the subject of human drug abuse,

However, archaeologists were long puzzled by slender tubes of unknown purpose that they kept finding in Mayan excavations.

The tubes’ function finally became clear with the discovery of painted vases showing scenes of the tubes’ use: to administer intoxicating enemas. The vases depict a high-status figure, evidently a priest or a prince, receiving a ceremonial enema in the presence of other people. The enema tube is shown connected to a bag of a frothy beer-like beverage—probably containing either alcohol or hallucinogens or both, as suggested by practices of other Indian groups. The substances known to be administered range from alcohol (made by fermenting agave sap or a tree bark) to tobacco, peyote, LSD derivatives, and mushroom-derived hallucinogens.

Incidentally, someone won the Darwin Award by the same method.

Diamond’s book has an interesting chapter on drug abuse, which he argued is unique to human. Koala bears are pretty doped up, but I suppose they actually live on eucalypt leaves, so it isn’t recreational.

Tags: History · Interests · MLP