Scientists identify contents of ancient Mayan medicine containers

Scientists have identified for the first time the presence of a tobacco-free plant in ancient Mayan medicine containers.

Researchers at Washington State University have detected Mexican marigolds (Tagetes lucida) in residues taken from 14 miniature Mayan ceramic vessels.

Originally buried over 1000 years ago in the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula, the ships also contain traces of chemicals found in two types of cured and cured tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica. The research team, led by anthropology postdoc Mario Zimmermann, believe Mexican marigold has been mixed with tobacco to make smoking more enjoyable.

The discovery of the contents of the vessels paints a clearer picture of ancient Mayan drug use practices. The research, which was published today (January 15, 2021) in Scientific reports, also paves the way for future studies of other types of psychoactive and non-psychoactive plants that were smoked, chewed or prized by the Mayans and other pre-Columbian societies.

“Although it has been established that tobacco is commonly used throughout America before and after contact, the evidence of other plants used for medicinal or religious purposes has remained largely unexplored,” Zimmermann said. “The analytical methods developed in collaboration between the Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Biological Chemistry give us the opportunity to study drug use in the ancient world like never before.”

The work of Zimmermann and colleagues was made possible by NSF-funded research that led to a new method of metabolomics-based analysis that can detect thousands of plant compounds or metabolites in residues collected in containers, pipes, bowls and other archaeological artifacts. The compounds can then be used to identify which plants have been consumed.

Previously, the identification of old plant residues relied on the detection of a limited number of biomarkers, such as nicotine, anabasine, cotinine and caffeine.

“The problem with this is that if the presence of a biomarker like nicotine shows that the tobacco has been smoked, it doesn’t tell you what else was consumed or stored in the artifact,” said David Gang, professor at the Institute of Biological Chemistry at WSU and a co-author of the study. “Our approach not only tells you, yes, you found the plant you are interested in, but it can also tell you what else was being eaten.”

Zimmermann helped unearth two of the ceremonial vessels that were used for analysis in the spring of 2012. At the time, he was working on a dig led by the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico on the outskirts. de Mérida where a contractor had discovered evidence of a Mayan archaeological site while clearing land for a new housing complex.

Zimmermann and a team of archaeologists used GPS equipment to divide the area into a checkerboard grid. They then hacked their way through the dense jungle looking for small mounds and other telltale signs of ancient buildings where the remains of important people such as shamans are sometimes found.

“When you find something really interesting like an intact container, it gives you a feeling of joy,” Zimmermann said. “Normally you’re lucky if you find a jade bead.” There are literally tons of pottery shards out there, but full containers are rare and offer a lot of interesting research potential.

Zimmermann said the WSU research team is currently negotiating with several institutions in Mexico to gain access to older containers in the region that they can analyze for plant residues. Another project they are currently pursuing involves examining organic residues preserved in dental plaque from ancient human remains.

“We are expanding the frontiers of archaeological science so that we can better study the relationships over time that people have had with a wide variety of psychoactive plants, which were (and continue to be) consumed by humans all over the world.” said Shannon Tushingham, professor of anthropology at WSU and co-author of the study. “There are many ingenious ways in which people manage, use, manipulate and prepare native plants and plant mixtures, and archaeologists are only beginning to scratch the surface of the antiquity of these practices.”

Reference: “Metabolomic Analysis of Contents of Miniature Vials Identifies Use of Tobacco Blends Among Ancient Mayans” by Mario Zimmermann, Korey J. Brownstein, Luis Pantoja Díaz, Iliana Ancona Aragón, Scott Hutson, Barry Kidder, Shannon Tushingham and David R. Gang, January 15, 2021, Scientific reports.
DOI: 10.1038 / s41598-021-81158-y