Archaeologists have discovered evidence that rock sculptures unearthed in southern Peru may have been inspired by individuals singing while eating hallucinogenic plants.
Danzante
(Photo : Getty Images/David Silverman)
Toro Muerto, or "dead bull" in Spanish, is a 10-kilometer rock art complex located in a desert ravine near the Majes River Valley.
It is home to over 2,600 volcanic boulders, each engraved with ancient petroglyphs ranging from small stones with single patterns to gigantic boulders bearing many designs.
The researchers point out that, despite their notoriety, the petroglyphs have received little attention. So, for their latest study, scientists analyzed the danzantes-dancing human figures-that appear on the majority of the stones.
"A danzante is a schematic representation of an anthropomorphic figure (usually 20-30 cm tall, occasionally larger) most often shown in a dynamic pose with one arm raised and the other lowered, on slightly spread legs (sometimes bent at the knees), with the head presented en face or in profile, with a headdress portrayed in the form of a few parallel lines," the researchers said.
According to the study, some of the figures have extra marks to show their faces, while others have more static stances, but their "identification as dancers seems convincing."
The researchers stated the zigzags represent movement and can be found on roughly 12% of the carvings at Toro Muerto. Images cover the carving on one particularly "massive boulder," which is around 15 feet long.
They believe the zig-zags were designed to emphasize the excitement and movement associated with wild dancing.
Because the colors of the engravings, or petroglyphs, are uniform and spaced, the researchers assume the work of art was planned before it began. According to the study, it consists of a "main scene" with images of birds, animals, and people flanking the centerpiece.
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Singing While Consuming Hallucinogenic Plants
The engravings, according to the researchers, are strikingly similar to those created by the Tukano, an early people who lived in what is now Colombia.
Prior research has established that the majority of those carvings were created during rituals by people who used ayahuasca, which is derived from hallucinogenic plants.
The Tukano people referred to their carvings as "yajé images," which depicted patterns they saw while intoxicated by entheogens.
The images also had banding, which represented creation stories, and were frequently accompanied by rituals, dances, songs, and musical instruments. In this context, the zigzag lines reflect the tunes that surround dancers during their ceremonial experiences.
Because of the resemblance, the experts believe the petroglyphs at Toro Muerto were etched by humans who consumed hallucinogenic herbs.
They add that the picture around their dancing figures appears to indicate people attempting to represent how the music made them feel while under the effect of an unknown psychedelic.
The Peruvian danzantes were also comparable, the researchers believe they also symbolize the "cosmos" during psychedelic experiences.
The ancient people's ritualism, which featured "shamanic singing, is not a performance about moving or traveling around the cosmos; rather, it is a set of journeys away from death and back to life," the researchers explained.
The study did highlight that the use of ayahuasca was speculative, but it had historical and cultural significance.
Related Article: Carvings Found in 2,000 Years Old Rocks in Brazil Suggest Settlement Patterns in Ancient Communities
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