Non-tobacco plant identified in ancient pipe for first time

Mirage News [Australia] ^ | June 26, 2020 | Public Release

[SunkenCiv]

People in what is now Washington State were smoking Rhus glabra, a plant commonly known as smooth sumac, more than 1,400 years ago.

The discovery, made by a team of Washington State University researchers, marks the first-time scientists have identified residue from a non-tobacco plant in an archeological pipe.

Unearthed in central Washington, the Native American pipe also contained residue from N. quadrivalvis, a species of tobacco not currently grown in the region but that is thought to have been widely cultivated in the past. Until now, the use of specific smoking plant mixtures by ancient people in the American Northwest had only been speculated about.

"Smoking often played a religious or ceremonial role for Native American tribes and our research shows these specific plants were important to these communities in the past," said Korey Brownstein, a former WSU Ph.D. student now at the University of Chicago and lead author of a study on the research in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. "We think the Rhus glabra may have been mixed with tobacco for its medicinal qualities and to improve the flavor of smoke."

The discovery was made possible by a new metabolomics-based analysis method that can detect thousands of plant compounds or metabolites in residue collected from pipes, bowls and other archeological artifacts. The compounds can then be used to identify which plants were smoked or consumed.

"Not only does it tell you, yes, you found the plant you’re interested in, but it also can tell you what else was being smoked," said David Gang, a professor in WSU’s Institute of Biological Chemistry and a co-author of the study. "It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that this technology represents a new frontier in archaeo-chemistry."

[_longranger81]

Note that these people are all dead now.

Every.

Single.

One.

[fella]

Kinnikinnick

[TexasTransplant]

Stolen Big Rime