I suppose next we'll be told radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry are myths.
"French scientists examining the stomach of the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II found fragments of tobacco leaves. Further analysis of the 3,200-year-old mummy indicated the presence of nicotine in the body. Conventional wisdom has it that tobacco was unknown in the Old World until the Spanish brought it back from the Americas in the Sixteenth Century." -- William R. Corliss, physicist, 1979
Corliss, W.R., Rameses II Hooked On Tobacco, Science Frontiers, Number 7, June 1979
"Apart from an ongoing investigation of hallucinogenic drugs in ancient societies, this preliminary study reports the identification of cocaine, hashish, and nicotine in Egpytian mummies. We took samples of soft tissue, bone, and hair from nine mummies. Drugs were detected by radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry." -- Svelta Balabanova, forensic toxicologist, et al., Aug 1992
Balabanova, S., Parsche, F., and Pirsig, W., First Identification of Drugs in Egyptian Mummies, Naturwissenschaften, Volume 79, Number 8, Page 358, Aug 1992
"Data are presented on the biochemical findings in several intermal organs from an Egyptian mummy with a 14C-dating of approximately 950 B.C. By use of radio immunoassay systems and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, significant amounts of various drugs were detected in internal organs (lung, liver, stomach, intestines) as well as in hair, bone, skin/muscle and tendon. These analyses revealed a significant deposition of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), nicotine (and its metabolite cotinine) and cocaine in the tissue from the mummy." -- Franz Parsche, anthropologist, and Andreas Nerlich, pathologist, 1995
Parsche, F., and Nerlich, A., Presence of Drugs In Different Tissues of an Egyptian Mummy, Ferensius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Volume 352, Number 3-4, Pages 380-384, Jan 1995
"When I was informed that cocaine had been found in Egyptian mummies, I was absolutely astounded. It seemed quite impossible that this should be the case." -- Rosalie David, egyptologist, 1996
"The first thing you think of is that this is just mad. It's wrong. There's contamination present. Maybe there's a fraud present of some kind. You don't think that cocaine can be present in an Egyptian mummy." -- John Henry, toxicologist, 1996
"I continued to work on it [cocaine mummies] because I wanted to be sure of my results, and after 3000 samples, I was absolutely certain that the tobacco plant was known in Europe and Africa long before Columbus." -- Svelta Balabanova, forensic toxicologist, 1996
1. The making of cocaine involves a serious chemical process.
ReplyDelete2. The cocoa plant is only found to grow in South America in modern times.
My questions are, (1) where is the ancient recipe for cocaine and (2) how where were the ingredients located?
....Egypt, not Antarctica.
ReplyDeleteI do suspect that gas chromatography is a weakest link.
ReplyDeleteNo magic mushrooms, huh??
ReplyDelete1. The recipe is from the American Indians. Predynastic cocaine was found at Caral Peru.
ReplyDelete2. Exactly.
And Balabanova addresses mushrooms.
ReplyDelete"Apart from an ongoing investigation of hallucinogenic drugs in ancient societies, this preliminary study reports the identification of cocaine, hashish, and nicotine in Egpytian mummies. We took samples of soft tissue, bone, and hair from nine mummies. Drugs were detected by radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry." -- Svelta Balabanova, forensic toxicologist, et al., Aug 1992
Hmmmm, nowhere do they seem to address psylocibin or psylicin as commonly was found in mushrooms, nor do they address alcohol, but I should think alcohol was widely used in the form of wine. My basis for questioning the use of magic mushrooms is here:
ReplyDeletesecret of magic mushroom and moses .... perhaps eating cowdew was more fun than building pyramids for a coked out tyrant.
She says "hallucinogenic drugs in ancient societies," referring specifically to Egypt. Do you think she means LSD?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't necessarily assume they had LSD back in Egypt, but perhaps they had peyote and opium?
ReplyDeleteNo matter what they had, it's impossible to explain by mainstream mythology.
ReplyDeleteNicotine... Hmmm... Eureka! That's it! The secret of mummification. Three packs a day for 20 years and you are preserved forever without the need for embalming fluids.
ReplyDeleteLOL Diatreme...=)
ReplyDelete