
A Look at the Evidence for Cocaine in Mummies (2002) - benbreen
http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=45
======
steve19
For all the articles waffling about the possibility of trans-atlantic trade
you really need to read far into the article to find the most likely source.
tldr ....

> Are there any plant sources known to have been available to the Ancient
> Egyptians between 1070BC - 395AD containing nicotine, cocaine, or THC?

> SB: It is known that cocaine is the principal alkaloid of the leaves of
> Erythroxylum coca. Cocaine is present also in other Erythroxylum species
> native to South Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius in amounts less than those
> found in Erythroxylum coca. However, it is possible that in antiquity a way
> to concentrate cocaine was known....

Not nearly as interesting as the two major pyramid building civilizations
trading, but far more likely.

A list of plants containing cocaine:

[http://sun.ars-
grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/chemdisp.xsql...](http://sun.ars-
grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/chemdisp.xsql?chemical=COCAINE)

If the article is true, those ancients must have been eating shit loads of
Erythroxylum leaves to have the same cocaine levels in their bodies as modern
day addicts (which makes me wonder if they are measuring the levels
incorrectly).

~~~
duaneb
The most likely explanation is evidence contamination.

~~~
eveningcoffee
From the link:

 _SB: The samples were stored since their excavation under homogenous
conditions. The conditions in the laboratory were again homogenous and the
samples were simultaneously investigated. Before the investigations, all
samples were carefully washed with distilled water and alcohol. The washing
water was tested and was cocaine negative. Also all chemicals were cocaine
negative. The sample extracts were applied to the GC /MS after it was
carefully rinsed with chloroform, until no traces of cocaine or its
metabolites were detected any more. If the amount measured were results of
contamination, all samples should have been positive. However, only parts were
positive._

Disclaimer: I do not know how reliable this source is.

Also they note:

 _Do these results support an established trans-Atlantic trading route between
Egypt and South America that predates Columbus (1492AD)?

WP: No, this conclusion cannot be made from the Ulm findings.

Could they indicate the possibility of a distant trading route across the
Pacific between South America, Asia and Africa?

WP: No, this conclusion cannot be made from the Ulm findings.

Do you favour any particular interpretation of your results?

WP: As the Ulm findings are gained from a few specimens of a few sites in the
huge world without other contemporary background information I don’t dare to
interpret them in any particular cultural context. _

------
kaffeemitsahne
Mummies in cocaïne wouldn't surprise me either.

