Sometimes archeology is a real surprise. Relatively recent studies of Egyptian mummies have surprised and puzzled scientists around the world. Traces of cocaine have been found in mummies 3,000 years ago by Egyptologists.
Apparently, cocaine and tobacco have been known since the time of the pharaohs. Really, they were "imported" to Egypt from America? Those. was this mainland discovered long before Columbus? It was believed that Europeans first saw the cocaine tree after Columbus discovered the New Earth and found many new species of both plants and animals that can only be seen in America.
However, it turned out that everything is actually quite different - after all, if Columbus was the first European to see American lands, then what explanation can be given to the fact that traces of cocaine were found on the bodies of Egyptian mummies? It turns out that in ancient Egypt, long before Christopher Columbus discovered America, there were connections with American cultures.
The study of this mystery began back in 1992 - then the curators of the museum in Munich performed scientific tests on the material of one of the many mummies. This mummy belonged to the priestess of Henttawi, who was more than three thousand years old. During the experiment, museum staff asked for help from toxicology specialist Svetlana Balabanova, who worked in Ulm at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Balabanova did not expect big surprises from the study of the mummy of the priestess of Henttawi, since she had previously studied Peruvian mummies of the pre-Columbian era, hoping to find traces of the use of coca. She took samples from one incomplete mummy, one complete and 7 severed heads. To the surprise of all participants in the study, the analysis revealed the presence of traces of cocaine and nicotine in the hair of the mummies.
Scientists have begun to examine other Egyptian mummies from the collection of the Munich Museum and have received the same incredible results. German scientists were amazed at these unexpected discoveries. At first, Balabanova did not even believe, she decided that there was a mistake. She checked the equipment again, and realized that the possibility of accidental introduction of any foreign impurities was absolutely excluded. Encouraged by this incredible discovery, she assembled a team of forensic experts who conducted new analyzes of Peruvian and Egyptian mummies, as well as skeletons from southern Germany and Sudan. Traces of narcotic substances were found mysteriously everywhere.
Balabanova and her colleagues at the end of 1992 studied about 11 Egyptian mummies and found traces of nicotine in all cases. In 10 cases out of 11 - traces of hashish, and in 8 cases - cocaine. At least 26 Peruvian mummies had traces of nicotine. All of these results have led to lively discussions. The attention of all scientists was riveted on "cocaine mummies". From the point of view of Egyptologists, such mummies in reality simply could not exist.
In the X century BC, according to them, no transatlantic trade could exist, as this would lead to an absolute change in people's ideas about the ancient world. According to scientists, there was some mistake in Balabanova's research. However, the methods she used are also used by private companies and the police to identify people who use drugs. If such methods were unreliable, this would lead to significant legal consequences.
The discovery of German scientists had the effect of a bomb exploding. After all, the forests of South America are home to evergreen, huge coca bushes. Then where did he come from in Africa more than a millennium before Columbus? The results of these studies shook the entire foundation of historical science. The researcher was bombarded with letters and ridiculed. However, a little later it turned out that Balabanova was not mistaken in her work. There was evidence of the results of her work. In the Nubian Desert, a few years later, scientists discovered the bodies of dead people, which naturally turned into mummies. Many mummies that lived more than 3,000 years ago have been examined. Traces of nicotine were found in the tissues of many of them. It was also revealed that 56 people used cocaine during their lifetime.
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Egyptians in everyday life very often used intoxicating herbs, intoxicating juices and roots. Opium, for example, could even be given to children so that they would not annoy them over trifles. Scientists estimate that the Egyptians knew more than 800 drugs. With opium everything is clear - poppy grows in the Old World. But what about the cocaine found in the bodies of the Egyptians? Is it possible to somehow explain this without changing the usual picture of the development of civilization?
When the first shock from the discoveries passed, they remembered that such facts had been known for a long time. They were simply not noticed. When the tomb of Tutankhamun was excavated in 1922, they found not only the gold of the rulers, but also the dried body of a tobacco beetle. French scientists, examining the mummy of Ramses II in 1976, also found particles of tobacco. At first, scientists suggested that the tobacco was accidentally spilled by one of the archaeologists during the study of the tomb. However, this excuse does not explain all the facts. Samples of substances were found even under a layer of resin, which was applied during embalming. You cannot accidentally spill tobacco there. In addition, such substances were found in the abdominal cavity of the mummy.
Tobacco is known to have excellent bactericidal properties - it protects the body from decay. For this reason, the Egyptians used it for mummification. Probably the Egyptians even smoked tobacco themselves. Researchers found clay pipes in the vicinity of Giza, which dated back to 2000-1700 BC. Old school researchers choose to ignore these strange discoveries and come up with rather unnatural explanations. For example, the researcher Renata Germer argued that the mummy of Ramses II was swaddled in the 19th century, and it was then that tobacco got inside the mummy.
There are other, more plausible versions. Some common plants in the Old World also contain nicotine. For example - Syrian wolf, stonecrop, spotted arum. Maybe there is nicotine in some other types of flora known to people - they did not search for it, since the modern need for nicotine is quenched by tobacco. The Egyptians did not have such an opportunity. Therefore, many scientists believe that the traces of nicotine in the pyramids and mummies have some other origin.
But what about cocaine then? Scientists cannot yet answer this question. Scientifically it is not yet possible to prove that the Egyptians were in the New World. But on this score, hypotheses have been expressed more than once. Anthropologists back in 1910, when discussing the pyramid of Mexico, came to the conclusion that it is likely that their design was not an invention of the American Indians. They could adopt this technology in Egypt. There were many similarities - the custom of burying the dead in pyramids, their construction, exact knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Scientists, evaluating all the parallels, came to the conclusion that it was in Egypt that civilization was born and from there it spread to other regions. Back in 1970, an ethnologist from Norway Thor Heyerdahl proved that it was possible to cross the Atlantic in Egyptian papyrus boats. Africans could get to America. The only question isDid they embark on such long voyages?
Here you can remember the mysterious country of Punt, which was very far from Egypt. According to legend, the trip to this country lasted about four years. There was no way to reach her on foot. At the end of the XVI century BC. Egyptian queen Hatshepsut ordered to equip an expedition and went to this country. Modern historians believe that this country is located in Somalia, however, there is a high probability that it could be located in South America. The expedition returned with valuable raw materials and luxury goods. The ships returned, loaded to the brim with goods.
In the inscriptions that were carved on the walls of the temple of Der el-Bahri, it is said that travelers crossed the sea. All this suggests that modern science clearly underestimates the capabilities of archaic cultures. The seeming isolation of Egypt was actually the “isolation” of Egyptology from the rest of the sciences. Perhaps everything on Earth developed in a completely different way, as it seems to modern historians. Perhaps people, more than once, like dinosaurs before, were almost completely erased from the face of the Earth by an asteroid impact. In this case, the remnants of civilizations, whose ancestors went on ships all over the planet and had excellent seafaring charts, had to start history anew.