Hallucinogenic Trip of the 1000-Year-Old Shamanic Pouch - into Another Galaxy

Since the mid-1950s, experimentalists, scientists, artists, musicians and psychonauts have been indulging in the “jungle alchemy” that is the ayahuasca, or DMT, experience. From 2008 – 2010 archaeological excavations revealed a collection of obsidian devices and a hearth from a rock shelter called Cueva del Chileno in the highlands of south-western Bolivia. The researchers found turquoise beads, colored strings, cut braids of human hair and a special “bundle” containing a pouch dating back almost a thousand years. Inside the pouch, scientists identified a mixture of at least five hallucinogenic substances, which according to an article in ‘Chemistry World’ represent “the largest number of psychotropic compounds ever found in a single ancient South American artefact”. When the archaeology news broke, the current author had limited hours to research, compile and publish an article. Now, three years later, it is time to return to this thousand-year-old magic-pouch, and to deep-dive each of the five psychoactive substances found within.