Home - HUMS150B1 - Mind-Altering Substances in the Ancient World

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What you need to find

For the Signature Assignment, you will:

Choose a mind-altering substance
Identify two different cultures where that substance was used
Create a National Geographic-style or History Channel-style documentary about the use of that substance in your selected cultures.

For each culture, you'll need to find:

At least one modern secondary source
One ancient primary source text
One ancient artifact (sculpture, vase, artwork, monument, etc.) related to the substance and culture you're investigating

Tools to learn about mind altering substances

Use the resources below to help you select a mind altering substance that you can explore across cultures. Be sure to select a substance that you can research across two different ancient cultures.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary by Antony Spawforth (Editor); Esther Eidinow; Simon Hornblower (Editor)
Publication Date: 2012-05-04
This highly acclaimed reference work will be the most up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary available on all aspects of the classical era. In over 6,700 entries written by the very best of classical scholars from around the world.
Ancient Psychoactive Substances by Scott M. Fitzpatrick (Editor)
Publication Date: 2018-02-20
This well-researched and fascinating volume demonstrates the important cultural role of psychoactive substances in ancient societies.
The Oxford Handbook of Global Drug History by Paul Gootenberg
ISBN: 0190842644
Publication Date: 2022-03-25
Thirty-five original essays simultaneously survey what is known historically about drugs across the world (in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa) as well as illustrating their historical interconnections.
The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World by Diana L. Stein (Editor); Sarah Kielt Costello (Editor); Karen Polinger Foster (Editor)
Publication Date: 2021-12-30
Several chapters explore the use of psychotropic drugs in relation to the ecstatic experience.
Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive Substances by J. Harold Ellens (Editor)
Publication Date: 2014-10-28
Chapters include examinations of how psychoactive agents are used to achieve altered states in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism as well as in the rituals of shamanism and other less widely known faiths.