“From ancient times, plant and fungi sources of psychoactive substances have been used by humans. Shining some light on archaeobotanical evidence of their past use and status may alleviate some unwarranted disrespect or demonization.”
Biography
Professor Merlin did his undergraduate study in History at UCSB and UCLA with a special emphasis of Ecology and the Environment. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in the Geography Department. His master’s thesis, Man and Marijuana: Some Aspects of their Ancient Relationships (1972), and his doctoral dissertation, On the Trail of Ancient Opium Poppy (1984) were both published as books by university presses. In 1992, his co-authored book, Kava: The Pacific Drug was published by Yale University Press, and in 2013, his co-authored book, Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany, was published by the University of California Press. All these book length studies of historically important psychoactive drug plants received critical acclaim, including the book on Cannabis being the co-winner of the prestigious Mary Klinger award from the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) as the Best Ethnobotany Book of the Year (2014). More recently, as its lead and main author, Plants and People of the Marshall Islands was also awarded the Klinger award from SEB as the Best Ethnobotany Book of the Year (2021). Professor Merlin is recognized as an authority on archaeological record and cultural biogeography of mind-altering drug plants, and highly regarded for his research and publications focused on traditional environmental knowledge of the societies in Remote Oceania.
Archaeo-ethnopharmacology of Psychoactive Plant Use in the Old World.
“Although there are a relatively large number of drug plants and fungi that are regarded as having had ancient mind-altering relationships with humans, only a few have been well documented in the archaeological record of the Eurasia.”
Transcript Abstract
From ancient times, plant and fungi sources of psychoactive substances have been used by humans. Motivations for such use have included desires to heal or provide support in daily work, as well as to escape from life’s harsh realities and inspire the ritualized development of spiritual beliefs. Although there are a relatively large number of drug plants and fungi that are regarded as having had ancient mind-altering relationships with humans, only a few have been well documented in the archaeological record of the Eurasia. Examples referred to in this presentation include (1) species in Ephedra, a genus generally categorized as comprised of stimulant plants, (2) Cannabis, a genus of closely related multipurpose plants that are sometimes classified as hallucinogenic or entheogenic, and (3) Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy species classified as an archetypical narcotic. All the plants, or their psychoactive secondary metabolites, that are highlighted in this study have drug use histories of varying adulation and condemnation. However, their traditional and modern use patterns of medicinal importance should not be obscured by their shifting status from the sacred to the profane. Shining some light on archaeobotanical evidence of their past use and status may alleviate some unwarranted disrespect or demonization.