An eerie network of rooms and passages built into an enigmatic temple complex in the Peruvian Andes may have been used for rituals involving psychedelic plants, researchers have found. These mysterious structures were discovered in 2019 deep inside the temple of Chavín de Huántar, which was the largest religious site belonging to the Chavín culture that lived in the area until about 2,200 years ago.
These transitional structures are still under investigation and we don’t know for sure what their functions are. But their purpose seems almost certainly to be “ritual activity,” Stanford archaeologist John Rick told Live Science. Specializing in this area, Rick has written numerous studies and book chapters describing how the structure of the Chavín de Huántar was at the center of its ceremonial activity.
For example, he wrote in 2006 that “architecture plays an important role in providing the setting for rituals whose primary function is to consolidate the authority and power of the Chavín leadership.” In explaining this subject, he talked about the strategic placement of ventilation shafts that allow the sun’s rays to illuminate certain ceremonial areas, thus enhancing the effect of certain psychoactive plants ingested during these rituals.
Many of the newly discovered passages, the longest of which are around 100 meters, contain confusing turns and may have helped create disorientation or confusion for those under the influence of mind-altering substances.
Exactly which psychedelic plants were used in Chavín de Huántar is also unknown, but there is widespread consensus that the mescaline-containing San Pedro cactus is among the herbs used during rituals. The native cactus is also depicted on stone statues and fabrics in the temple, but no trace of actual plant material has yet been found at the site.
Other scientists say it could be a psychoactive snuff made from the bark of the vilca tree, which contains a DMT derivative known as bufotenin. While there is not very clear evidence of the use of this substance, a carving discovered at Chavín de Huántar in 1975 appears to depict vilca pods.
Various sculpted busts that appear to have mucus flowing from their nostrils are also interpreted as further evidence of vilca use, as snuffing causes an excessive runny nose. Other tools such as small grinding mortars and “snuff spoons” were also found at Chavín de Huántar, but with no plant remains it is impossible to say with certainty exactly which herbs were consumed inside the temple.
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