In a cave in North Africa, a human burial was discovered around 15,000 years ago, along with a “unique and special” medicinal plant, Ephedra. Still used in traditional medicine, this humble shrub represents the earliest known example of humanity's use of this plant and offers important clues about prehistoric funeral rituals and medical practices.

This archaeological find was uncovered during excavations at La Grotte des Pigeons, locally known as Taforalt, near the city of Berkane in northeastern Morocco. Between 2005 and 2015, a large number of adult and infant skeletons were discovered sitting or lying down in the very back of the cave.

One of these skeletons belonged to a male, identified as “Individual 14”, aged 19-20 years. In addition to his bones, grave goods included animal bones, stones and rare ochre-painted objects.

In recent research, a team led by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria analyzed hundreds of burnt remains of seven different plant species from this individual's grave. The most remarkable of these was ephedra, a plant known for thousands of years in the traditional medicine of India and China.

Ephedra is a plant that is claimed to have a wide range of uses, from treating colds and respiratory diseases to boosting energy and weight loss. However, some of these benefits have not yet been fully scientifically verified.

Ephedrine, one of the main active ingredients of the ephedra plant, is known for its stimulant effects and is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia, to treat asthma, narcolepsy and obesity.

Given the versatile properties of this plant, researchers cannot pinpoint the exact reason why “Individual 14” was buried with the burnt remains of Ephedra, but they have put forward some hypotheses.

The scientists think that Ephedra may have been consumed as a “medicinal food” with both nutritional and therapeutic properties. They suggest that the plant may have provided multipurpose benefits, such as alleviating hunger and maintaining health at the same time.

There is also evidence that the Iberomaurusian community that used the cave performed surgical interventions such as tooth extraction and skull drilling. The researchers suggest that ephedra may have been used during these operations to reduce blood loss and promote healing due to its vasoconstrictive effect.

The researchers acknowledge that it is impossible to understand exactly what people who lived 15,000 years ago intended. However, they emphasize that it is clear that this “unique and special” plant was used in a funerary context, suggesting that people of the time were aware of its unusual properties.

“The consumption of special foods and their deposition in places with deep symbolic meaning, such as cemeteries, is often interpreted as an indication of feasting or sharing food with the dead. At the Cave of the Pigeons, we think that people used or consumed such special foods as part of a funerary ritual. We suggest that the ephedra played an important role in these rituals.”

 

 

Source: arkeofili.com