Evidence of Cannabis in new world before Columbus

[Pantagruel]

This is an old article already but had to share it with you


http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2006/06/c8578.html
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If in your soil it takes to heaven A thousand thanks be given; And say in the land, it goodley goes, Where the Pantagruelion grows.

[Don Quixote]

hi Pantagruel,

many thanks for the fascinating link about the 5 nations people brother.

information about cannabis use in south and central America before columbus and his merry train of dearh arrived can be found in -

Drugs from A to Z, A Dictionary - by Richard E. Lingeman last published by McGraw-Hill Book Co in 1974.

this relates to several contemporary writings by the spanish invaders about widespread ritual Cannabis use being present before their invasion.It refers to various peoples , but the Maya in particular.

There are also documents in the spanish state archives which prove Cannabis was in widespread use before the invasion but any efforts i have made to enquire about these has been met with a resounding , defening silence.

The church , the royal family and various university and archeological organisations are known to have writings and 'artifacts' in their possesion which prove Cannabis was used long before columbus.These are not people i chose to contact.

The Cuna nation still use and grow Cannabis today as they have always done in this age.
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Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L by William A Emboden

this book refers to the Teehua way and speaks of their belief that Cannabis is a spirit from the heart of the Great Father (God).

Sorry i cannot be more helpful but i have always known that every nation in the America's have been using Cannabis for thousands of years , it just never occured to me to find documented evidence.

i would be interested in anything you can turn up.

PEACE

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[Don Quixote]

Pantagruel , my brother,

Firstly let me thank you for your insightful and intelligent research into the historical use of Cannabis.It is always a pleasure and a learning experience reading your posts.

Below is my small contribution to the cause.please use it in any way you see fit.

Please bear in mind that the chemical traces in these mummies is a 'metabolite' of Cannabis Sativa.This means that the bodies were not exposed to Cannabis after they died.

These mummified people must have ingested Cannabis while they were still living , well over 1.5 thousand years before columbus invaded.

link here --->

http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=transcripts&id=155

Cannabis sativa

Origin: Central Asia

Summary: Long used as a psychoactive drug in Asia, a signature chemical from the metabolic breakdown of this plant in the human body has been identified in Peruvian mummies dated from AD 100 to 1500.

Transfer: either India (via the Pacific?) or the Middle East (via the Atlantic?) to the Americas

Time of transfer: no later than AD 100

Grade: A

Sources: Cannabis sativa—hashish, marijuana, Indian hemp

Int. Lib. Assoc. 1996, 561. Sanskrit: bhanga, vijaya

Chopra et al. 1956, 48. Sanskrit: ganjika, bhanga

Nadkarni 1914, 77. Cannabis sativa. Sanskrit: vijayâ, siddhapatri. Hindi: ganja. Arabic: kinnab. Native of western and central Asia. Now cultivated all over India and wild in the western Himalayas and Kashmir. The plant is sacred to the Hindus.

Zeven and de Wet 1982, 71. Center of maximum diversity in Central Asia. 149. There is a wild form in Central Asia.

Jett (2004) reprises the literature on evidence for the mortuary use of hashish in the New World: "Hashish or Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa), a native of western Asia, carried the alkaloid delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). The plant (commonly called "marijuana"), which has long been popular in the Middle East for its psychoactive effects, is generally assumed to have been a post-Columbian introduction to the warmer parts of the New World. However, Parsche, Balabanova, and Pirsig (1992b) found THC (along with cocaine and nicotine) in the tissues, teeth, and hair of ancient naturally mummified bodies from both the North Coast and the South Coast of Peruóin 39 of the 60 cadavers tested and in a corporal distribution indicating ante-mortem use. These mummies ranged in date from about AD 115 to AD 1500."

Balabanova, Parsche, and Pirsig 1992b. Residues from hashish and cannabis were identified chemically in cranial hair of pre-Columbian Peruvian mummies.

Parsche, Balabanova, and Pirsig 1993, 503. They analyzed hair, skin, muscle, brain, teeth, and bones from 72 Peruvian (as well as11 Egyptian ) mummies and found chemical residues of cocaine, nicotine, and hashish and their metabolites in both sets of mummies (16 of the Peruvian corpses revealed cocaine; 26 had tobacco traces; and 20 showed hashish).

Díaz 2003, 80. Marijuana (cannabis) may have been introduced to Mexico during the colonial period as a source of fiber. Shortly afterward, the plant was used for ritual purposes by indigenous groups. Famous Mexican scientist Alzate described its ritual use with a beautiful Náhuatl name, pipiltzintzintli [which actually implies a pre-Columbian use, although it does not guarantee it].

Addendum: Too late to enter in detail: Jett 2002.

hope you find this useful.

Many thanks Pantagruel , all the very best to you.

PEACE.

.

[David]

[Hemp Guy]

If Cannabis was in the Americas pre-Columbus why is it there is not one single pre-columbian archaeological find of Cannabis or it's seeds or pollen in the America's? You would think that an important plant like Cannabis would have been used for many many reasons, like in the rest of the world. Where are the fibers, textiles, seeds, pollen in the lakes, etc., etc., that have been found in the new world? There are none at all. ZERO.

See: http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha5208.html

Physical evidence for the antiquity of Cannabis sativa L.
By Michael P. Fleming and Robert C. Clarke