Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Inca sacrifice victims were given ayahuasca

Traces of the psychoactive substance in mummies might be the earliest evidence of its use as an antidepressant.
Ampato Girl Mummy wearing headdress after being excavated.

Peru's Ampato Girl Mummy was found wearing a headdress. Credit: Johan Reinhard/J. Archaeol. Sci.

Two Inca children who were sacrificed more than 500 years ago had consumed ayahuasca, a beverage with psychoactive properties, an analysis suggests1. The discovery could represent the earliest evidence of the beverage’s use as an antidepressant.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 604, 404 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01037-y

References

  1. Socha, D. M., Sykutera, M., Reinhard, J. & Chávez Perea, R. J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 43, 103415 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links