Ritual drug use during Inca human sacrifices on Ampato mountain (Peru): Results of a toxicological analysis
A new study suggests that children in the Incan empire took psychedelics to ease stress before being sacrificed.
Archaeologists discovered the 500 year old remains of two Incan children who were sacrificed as part of a ritual called capacocha.
Capacocha was a common ceremony performed to appease the gods for a variety of purposes, such as to prevent natural disasters.
Toxicology samples revealed that the children, who were around the age of 6, consumed coca leaf and ayahuasca in the final weeks of their lives.
According to the study authors, “the Incas may have consciously used the antidepressant properties of (ayahuasca) to reduce the anxiety and depressive states of the victims.”