Could an hallucinogenic drink have affected politics in ancient Peru?

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Leaders of a historic South American empire used a beer mixed with a psychedelic substance to maintain political control over their society and neighboring communities, according to research published last Wednesday, January 12th.

In a study published in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists revealed that the leaders of the Wari people served a beer-like drink made with the fruits of the Molle tree combined with the seeds of the Vilca tree and served the mixture to guests at community parties.

“The resulting psychotropic experience reinforced the power of the Wari state and represents an intermediate step between exclusive and corporate political strategies,” wrote the researchers in a summary of the study published online by the Cambridge University Press. “This Andean example contributes to the global catalog documenting the close relationship between hallucinogens and social power.”

The Wari built their empire in the highlands of the Andes Mountains, in present-day Peru, ruling the area from about 600-1000 AD and predating the Inca empire by four centuries. Archaeologists excavating in Quilcapampa, in southern Peru, from 2013 to 2017, discovered the first evidence of psychedelic Vilca seeds found at a Wari site.

Matthew Biwer, visiting assistant professor of archaeology at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and lead author of the study, said the discovery clarifies how South American indigenous civilizations made use of psychoactive substances.

“This was a turning point in the Andes in terms of politics and the use of hallucinogens,” Biwer said, as reported by CNN. “We see this type of hallucinogen use as a different context from that in earlier civilizations, which seem to have closely guarded the use of hallucinogens for a select few, or the last Inca Empire that emphasized mass beer consumption but did not use psychoactive substances like Vilca in parties.”

Pre-Columbian civilizations used Vilca, often inhaled as snuff, 4,000 years ago. The seeds contain the psychedelic substance dimethyltryptamine, as well as bufotenine, a substance similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin.

“What I've read from ethnographic sources is that you have a very strong sensation of flying,” Biwer told Inverse.

Party hosts rule the empire

Previous research has revealed that the Wari used parties and beer as a way to exert political control over guests from neighboring communities. Researchers at the Quilcapampa site found evidence that the Wari were making Molle beer, called Chicha, in substantial quantities. Botanical remains of Molle and Vilca were found and ceramics were discovered at the site center, an indication of where the parties were held, according to the study's authors.

“The Wari added vilca to the chicha beer to impress guests who could not reciprocate the experience,” Biwer said. “This created a indebted relationship between Wari hosts and guests, likely from the surrounding region.”

“We argue that the party, beer, and Vilca served to create and consolidate social connections between the peoples affiliated with the Wari and the locals as the Empire expanded,” Biwer continued. “It was also a way for Wari leaders to demonstrate and maintain social, economic, and political power.”

Biwer explained that guests would feel social pressure to acknowledge the power of their Wari hosts and would feel obligated to reciprocate the favor in the future.

“There is political power in being able to acquire and use these hallucinogenic substances and provide these experiences,” Biwer said. “I think it's a good example of the connection between politics, drug use, intoxication, and social bonds.”

Researchers have not yet discovered why the Wari civilization ultimately failed. But as they continue to study sites inhabited by the pre-Columbian civilization, they are learning more about how the early inhabitants of Peru lived.

“The Wari Empire extended from northern Peru to the far south, near the Chilean border, and from the coast to the mountainous areas of the Andes,” Biwer explained. “It is the first example of an empire in South America, having collapsed about 400 years before the rise of the Inca Empire.”