opium poppy
Archeology of psychoactive sources: between iconological studies and chemical analyses
archeology, base ring juglet, Chumash, Eleusinian Mysteries, ergot, gas chromatography, jimsonweed, mass spectrometry, opium poppy, phosphene, Pinwheel Cave, Porto Badisco, pottery and Daunian stelae, rock artBy: MARIA LAURA LEONE – In recent years, microanalytical chemistry is making decisive contributions to the identification of psychoactive sources in archaeological contexts in different parts of the world. Most of the cases presented in this article were preceded and motivated by iconological studies which, directly or indirectly, were based on the reading of art,…