|
|
cannabis fun club |
|
userbars - news - the science - » READING « - gardening - workshop - jokes - forum - links - Site Map |
Where did the Russian land come from?25.10.2007 The drink of the gods that overcomes death - that was the name of the most ancient tincture, the mention of which has reached our days in the half-decayed written tales "Avesta" and "Rigveda".The mysterious composition of this miracle nectar has been dazzling scientists for centuries. But only now can we say with some certainty what its approximate recipe was. Thanks to the latest finds by Moscow archaeologists, scientists have been able to compile the menu of our great-great-great-grandfathers. Who, as it turns out, were also not averse to indulging in datura. MK was given the opportunity to look into the kitchen of a Bronze Age shepherd and tell about his culinary preferences by Natalia Shishlina, head of the archaeological monuments department at the State Historical Museum. “For five years now, in the area of the village of Remontnoye in the Rostov region, the Steppe archaeological expedition of the State Historical Museum has been excavating the burial grounds of ancient cattle breeders of the Caspian steppes,” says the historian. - Primitive people who roamed here during the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) left us thousands of their mounds. Under them, household items, dishes and household utensils, and knives covered with a green patina were preserved. Accompanying a deceased relative on his final journey, relatives took care that he did not die of hunger in the afterlife. This helped the capital's scientists to find out the diet of the ancient nomad. And at the same time to discover the secret of a unique tincture, which can safely be called the first hallucinogenic drink. And now archaeologists know that people used this potion much earlier than the "father of history" Herodotus wrote about it and than was previously assumed. The drink of the gods, which overcomes death, was first mentioned in ancient Indian and ancient Iranian sources dating back to the 1st millennium BC. It was made from the stems of soma. Incidentally, this plant has not yet been identified by scientists. Soma was soaked in water, squeezed out using pressing stones, filtered through a sieve made of sheep's wool, diluted with water, mixed with milk or barley and poured into wooden vessels. Drinking soma was a special ritual among the ancient Aryans. The Huirans called this drink haoma. It was made from a mixture of herbs: hemp, henbane, rhubarb, ephedra, sometimes poppy and some other plants. Some scientists believe that its main component was fly agaric. All this riot of mushrooms and herbs was thoroughly mixed and also filled with milk. - In one of the burials we examined, fragments of plants resembling hemp were found at the bottom of a clay vessel, - continues Shishlina. - Most likely, this jug contained some kind of narcotic tincture. As is known, Herodotus wrote about the Scythians' acquaintance with the narcotic properties of hemp. Our data allows us to date this acquaintance back 2.5 thousand years - to the Bronze Age. It is no coincidence that the burial vessels found contained pollen and traces of wormwood. Wormwood is used to make aniseed vodka, absinthe, and to treat stomach and intestinal disorders. At the same time, common wormwood is often used as a hemostatic agent for many gynecological diseases. But if you overdo it and consume more than 20-30 grams, a person can simply get poisoned. Apparently, the ancient steppe dwellers were well aware of the properties of this plant. But this does not mean that our distant ancestors were all drug addicts or unsurpassed healers. They used the acquired botanical knowledge for ritual and ceremonial purposes, and perhaps even for embalming the dead. - A person is sometimes "suddenly mortal", said Bulgakov. If he died, for example, from a seizure at breakfast, the remains of food could have been preserved in the body. Studying the stomach contents of the deceased, as well as their teeth, we found phytoliths of both known and as yet unidentified plants, similar to those found in the vessels, - adds Shishlina. - Probably, some herbal, perhaps even narcotic tincture or some other intoxicating or invigorating drink could have been in the jugs and cups. This herbal infusion could have served as a primitive anesthetic for the dying, or perhaps a means of bringing the person being sacrificed into a state of trance or peace. Maybe this is the notorious "drink of the gods"?! In everyday life, in addition to spring water, the ancient nomads of the modern southern Russian steppes drank milk, meat broth and even hot tea infused with meadow herbs. Moreover, apparently, they knew the benefits of almost all local species of fragrant herbaceous plants. Well, what kind of tea without honey? The presence of this product in the diet is indicated by the preserved pollen of woody and field flowering herbs found during the study of the remains of two people - a middle-aged man and woman, from the same burial. It is noteworthy that the discovered microparticles of ancient honey pollen belong to plants growing only in the North Caucasus. - At the same time, we managed to determine the approximate composition of the herd of the Bronze Age, - says Shishlina. - The steppe dwellers bred sheep, cows and horses. But the bones of pigs and camels are completely absent from the burial mounds. These animals appeared among the cattle breeders much later. In addition, the first inhabitants of the steppes hunted, fished, and did not disdain gathering grain. The gastronomic preferences of the primitive herders would be the envy of even a modern regular at a fine restaurant. The menu of the people of the Early Bronze Age included not only saigas, wild boars and hares, but also geese, pheasants, swans, ducks and even shelducks. The bones of these birds and animals are often found in ancient burials. - Sometimes the graves contain the eggshells of wild birds, - adds Natalia Shishlina. - Most often these are fragile fossilized particles of the eggshells of pheasants, geese and seagulls. Bonefish are extremely rare. These are mainly pike perch, carp and sturgeon. Mussels and other edible river mollusks, apparently, adorned the daily meal. The shepherds did not forget about frogs either. This allows us to assume that fishing and hunting, as well as the collection of eggs of wild birds, played a very significant role in the economy and nutrition of the nomads. The first cattle breeders never ran out of plant food: wild elk, sorrel, wood sorrel, barley, oats and oat grass. Also, during excavations, pollen grains of legumes and quinoa are found, which may indicate that they were used as food. Young shoots of cattail were also considered a common food at that time. Sometimes in pots from burials, archaeologists find a mixture of cereals and flowering herbs, for example, pollen of ephedra and wormwood. But most likely, these plants were used to make psychotropic and hallucinogenic decoctions, which could also serve as medicines. - But we still managed to determine one recipe of an ancient dish with maximum accuracy, - Shishlina says proudly. - Its exact proportions, of course, will forever remain a secret. And they probably did not exist in those prehistoric times. After all, volume measures had not yet been invented then, and each housewife determined what, where and how much to throw or pour, by eye. But the main components of the dish, which has come down to us from the depths of millennia, have still been deciphered. So, wild oats and coarsely ground oats are added to the broth cooked from the offal, and when it is ready, horse sorrel is added for a sharper taste. By the way, it is possible that salt was added to this simple brew. Although scientists do not yet have precise evidence of the use of this ingredient in food in those distant times. "Moscow's comsomolets"
|
|
| News | The science | Reading | Gardening | Workshop | Anecdotes | Forum | Site Map |
On the site Cannabis Fun Club in Russia You can find out the latest news about marijuana and hemp. In the section gardening you can learn all about growing marijuana and hemp. In the section workshop describes the methods of smoking marijuana, how to make a joint and how to make hashish. There is also a Rastafarian forum here where you can clarify any question you are interested in. |
|
|
The advertiser is responsible for the advertised goods and services.
All rights to materials contained on the site belong to their authors. The opinion of the authors may not coincide with the opinion of the administration. |
Cannabis Fun Club © 2008
E-mail: hemptop(as)googlemail.com |