May 29, 2020 06:59 AM
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bibl...-marijuana
EXCERPT: . . . Excavations at Israel’s Tel Arad site in the 1960s uncovered the shrine amid the ruins of two fortress cities [...] Chemical analyses of dark material on the two altars’ upper surfaces conducted in the late 1960s proved inconclusive. Using modern laboratory devices, a team led ... analyzed chemical components of residues on each altar.
Cannabis on the smaller of the two altars had been mixed with animal dung so it could be burned at a low temperature, likely allowing ritual specialists to inhale the plant’s mind-altering fumes, the researchers report online May 29 in Tel Aviv, a journal published by Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology. This cannabis sample contained enough of the plant’s psychoactive compound THC to have induced an altered state of consciousness by breathing in its fumes.
Frankincense, a form of dried tree resin, was placed on the larger altar and mixed with animal fats that enabled burning at temperatures high enough to release the resin’s fragrance, the researchers say. Biblical and historical texts indicate that frankincense and another fragrant tree resin, myrrh, reached the Iron Age Middle East and surrounding regions via trade from southern Arabia.
“But cannabis is completely new for understanding incense burning in this region, and in Judah in particular,” Arie says. Earlier evidence had pointed to the use of other mind-bending substances, such as opium, during religious rituals in various parts of the ancient Middle East and southwest Asia... (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . Excavations at Israel’s Tel Arad site in the 1960s uncovered the shrine amid the ruins of two fortress cities [...] Chemical analyses of dark material on the two altars’ upper surfaces conducted in the late 1960s proved inconclusive. Using modern laboratory devices, a team led ... analyzed chemical components of residues on each altar.
Cannabis on the smaller of the two altars had been mixed with animal dung so it could be burned at a low temperature, likely allowing ritual specialists to inhale the plant’s mind-altering fumes, the researchers report online May 29 in Tel Aviv, a journal published by Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology. This cannabis sample contained enough of the plant’s psychoactive compound THC to have induced an altered state of consciousness by breathing in its fumes.
Frankincense, a form of dried tree resin, was placed on the larger altar and mixed with animal fats that enabled burning at temperatures high enough to release the resin’s fragrance, the researchers say. Biblical and historical texts indicate that frankincense and another fragrant tree resin, myrrh, reached the Iron Age Middle East and surrounding regions via trade from southern Arabia.
“But cannabis is completely new for understanding incense burning in this region, and in Judah in particular,” Arie says. Earlier evidence had pointed to the use of other mind-bending substances, such as opium, during religious rituals in various parts of the ancient Middle East and southwest Asia... (MORE - details)