scholarly journals Chemical evidence for the use of multiple psychotropic plants in a 1,000-year-old ritual bundle from South America

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (23) ◽  
pp. 11207-11212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie J. Miller ◽  
Juan Albarracin-Jordan ◽  
Christine Moore ◽  
José M. Capriles
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Organic Residues ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Chemical Evidence

Over several millennia, various native plant species in South America have been used for their healing and psychoactive properties. Chemical analysis of archaeological artifacts provides an opportunity to study the use of psychoactive plants in the past and to better understand ancient botanical knowledge systems. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze organic residues from a ritual bundle, radiocarbon dated to approximately 1,000 C.E., recovered from archaeological excavations in a rock shelter located in the Lípez Altiplano of southwestern Bolivia. The site is located at an elevation of ∼3,900 m above sea level and contains evidence of intermittent human occupations during the last 4,000 years. Chemical traces of bufotenine, dimethyltryptamine, harmine, and cocaine, including its degradation product benzoylecgonine, were identified, suggesting that at least three plants containing these compounds were part of the shamanic paraphernalia dating back 1,000 years ago, the largest number of compounds recovered from a single artifact from this area of the world, to date. This is also a documented case of a ritual bundle containing both harmine and dimethyltryptamine, the two primary ingredients of ayahuasca. The presence of multiple plants that come from disparate and distant ecological areas in South America suggests that hallucinogenic plants moved across significant distances and that an intricate botanical knowledge was intrinsic to pre-Columbian ritual practices.

Schistocerca nitens (gray bird grasshopper).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Garcia-Moll
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Hawaiian Island ◽  
Endangered Plant ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Northern South America

Abstract S. nitens (Thunberg) is a short-horned grasshopper classified in the Family Acrididae. It is native to southwestern North America, Central America and northern South America. It was first reported as invasive in the Hawaiian archipelago in 1964 and is now present on all the main Hawaiian islands. S. nitens is solitary and non-migratory, but under certain conditions can form swarms or outbreaks and cause damage to crops and native plant species. In 2002 and 2004 outbreaks on the Hawaiian island of Nihoa posed a threat to all the vegetation on the island, particularly endangered plant species.

scholarly journals Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (Mexican flamevine).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Galápagos Islands ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Stems And Leaves ◽  
New Habitats

Abstract Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides is a vine species native to the Americas, from Mexico to the northern regions of South America, often cultivated for its showy flowers. It has been introduced in tropical and subtropical regions as a garden ornamental and for ground cover, from where it has successfully escaped from cultivation and can now be found naturalized along roadsides, forest edges, moist thickets and disturbed sites. P. chenopodioides is an aggressive plant that spreads extensively and quickly colonizes new habitats. Once established, it climbs over adjacent vegetation and forms a dense blanket of stems and leaves that shade-out native plant species. It has been listed as invasive in Anguilla and Hawaii, and as potentially invasive in Florida and Galapagos Islands.

scholarly journals Disentangling Domestication from Food Production Systems in the Neotropics

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Charles R. Clement ◽  
Alejandro Casas ◽  
Fabiola Alexandra Parra-Rondinel ◽  
Carolina Levis ◽  
Nivaldo Peroni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Plant Domestication ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Neotropical Plants ◽  
Incipient Domestication

The Neolithic Revolution narrative associates early-mid Holocene domestications with the development of agriculture that fueled the rise of late Holocene civilizations. This narrative continues to be influential, even though it has been deconstructed by archaeologists and geneticists in its homeland. To further disentangle domestication from reliance on food production systems, such as agriculture, we revisit definitions of domestication and food production systems, review the late Pleistocene–early Holocene archaeobotanical record, and quantify the use, management and domestication of Neotropical plants to provide insights about the past. Neotropical plant domestication relies on common human behaviors (selection, accumulation and caring) within agroecological systems that focus on individual plants, rather than populations—as is typical of agriculture. The early archaeobotanical record includes numerous perennial and annual species, many of which later became domesticated. Some of this evidence identifies dispersal with probable cultivation, suggesting incipient domestication by 10,000 years ago. Since the Pleistocene, more than 6500, 1206 and 6261 native plant species have been used in Mesoamerica, the Central Andes and lowland South America, respectively. At least 1555, 428 and 742 are managed outside and inside food production systems, and at least 1148, 428 and 600 are cultivated, respectively, suggesting at least incipient domestication. Full native domesticates are more numerous in Mesoamerica (251) than the Andes (124) and the lowlands (45). This synthesis reveals that domestication is more common in the Neotropics than previously recognized and started much earlier than reliance on food production systems. Hundreds of ethnic groups had, and some still have, alternative strategies that do involve domestication, although they do not rely principally on food production systems, such as agriculture.

A Guide to Planting Wildflower Enhancements in Florida

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Bammer ◽  
Josh Campbell ◽  
Chase B. Kimmel ◽  
James D.. Ellis ◽  
Jaret C. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Control Techniques ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
The Right

The establishment of native wildflower plantings in Florida can benefit agricultural producers as well as native pollinators and other beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). The plantings do this by:  providing forage and nesting sites for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, increasing wild bee numbers possibly across the farm, and increasing natural enemies of insect pests (that also depend on forage and nesting sites). This document discusses choosing the right mix of native plant species to benefit many pollinator species, as well as proper site selection, planting practices, and weed control techniques. Wildflower plots should be practical to manage, maximize benefits to wildlife, and fit into the overall management practices of the property. 

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