We have been consuming psychoactive drugs for at least 3,000 years. There is nothing new about getting ‘high’ and the analysis of a lock of hair hidden in Menorca showed that local shamans three millennia ago were already using drugs in their religious rites with the aim of enhancing their senses. This is something that was also done for recreational purposes and to induce altered states that would give an advantage on the battlefield.
And, precisely, it seems that the Germanic ‘barbarians’ who attacked Rome were up to their limits. So much so that they had their own spoons designed to consume the substances.
Teutonic rage. Much has been discussed about the use that the Germans who fought against the Romans made of state-altering substances. So much so that, in testimonies from ancient Rome, warriors were described who, practically without clothes and howling, entered into combat in a ferocious manner. The term was ‘furor teutonicus’.
The Romans thought they were full of beer or mead and, for a long time, there was debate about what substances these warriors could have actually taken. Hallucinogenic mushrooms or foods contaminated by mushrooms were the preferred candidates, but studies were also carried out that indicated that it was most likely that this fury in battle was the result of a rush of dopamine and adrenaline from the very fact of entering combat.
The spoons. Now, an extensive new study may turn all this upside down. Published just a few days ago, archaeologists and biologists from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University of Lubrin in Poland detail the uses that several dozen small spoon-shaped artifacts found in Germanic archaeological contexts could have had during battles.
Specifically, 241 artifacts have been found in 116 archaeological sites, mainly in tombs, battlefields and military deposits in the areas of Scandinavia and the Barbarian central (the limits of the Roman Empire in the German area). There are many spoons, but two types have been identified:
- Type A1: with a slim design.
- Tipo A2: with a more robust structure with different rivets.
Dutch cook. Once the objects have been identified, the researchers detail that they most likely served the obvious purpose: substance consumption. These would be psychoactive plants and mushrooms available in the region such as opium, henbane or ‘crazy weed’, belladonna and mushrooms such as Amanita muscaria. The spoons indicate that they could be consumed both in powder and liquid form, perhaps mixed with alcohol, and, as many were found attached to belts, extrapolation suggests that a considerable part of the warriors placed them before combat.
It would be like a shot of stimulants to reduce fear and stress, increase aggressiveness and the state of bravery or euphoria and enter a state of “war trance” to improve combat performance. Hence the ferocity that the Romans described.
Deposits in which Type A1 spoons were found
And where the Type A2 were found
They didn’t take drugs like crazy. More interesting than the use of narcotics among the German army and the fact that they had specific tools to get high is the economic conclusion that researchers have reached. Since neither one nor two soldiers were supposedly ‘doped’ before entering combat, archaeologists deduce that there was a significant level of organization and knowledge of the drug industry.
They used the plants and mushrooms that they had on hand in each of the regions and processed them in the appropriate way so they could send them to the soldiers. They believe there was an economy and industry around the supply of drugs, similar to how current networks operate, but legally.
Dismantling beliefs. Something that clashes with the discovery of the teaspoons is that the authors point out that there are no Roman documents (at least, they have not been found) that directly describe these objects. It would be a cultural gap in Roman writings, a people who considered that opium was reserved for the elite (for them) while the barbarians had to settle for alcohol.
Now, of course, the use of opium was not limited to what the ‘barbarians’ could do. The poppy was known throughout the Mediterranean and Egyptians, Philistines, Greeks and Romans enjoyed its advantages and disadvantages in different contexts. And in that bag are some Germans who, according to researchers, apart from for battle, could also consume the substances for medical or recreational purposes.
Images | George Chernilevsky, Degruyter
In WorldOfSoftware | The new era of psychedelia: how some “recreational” drugs want to help us with our mental health
