Blue Eyed Mummy and Cannabis in Ancient Chinese Grave

I had no idea that most strains of cannabis today originated in China! Fascinating article - and more of those troublesome blue-eyed certainly Caucasian mummies (this one was most likely a shaman) showing up in the far northwest region of China. [Map - shows how close Turpan a/k/a Turfan is to Urumchi a/k/a Urumqi - see prior posts under Mummies of Urumchi: (1) (2)]. Story from The Canadia Press.com Researchers find oldest-ever stash of marijuana 1 day ago OTTAWA — Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China. The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly "cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany. The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China. The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour. "To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," says the newly published paper, whose lead author was American neurologist Dr. Ethan B. Russo. Remnants of cannabis have been found in ancient Egypt and other sites, and the substance has been referred to by authors such as the Greek historian Herodotus. But the tomb stash is the oldest so far that could be thoroughly tested for its properties. The 18 researchers, most of them based in China, subjected the cannabis to a battery of tests, including carbon dating and genetic analysis. Scientists also tried to germinate 100 of the seeds found in the cache, without success. The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, but the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage. Researchers also could not determine whether the cannabis was smoked or ingested, as there were no pipes or other clues in the tomb of the shaman, who was about 45 years old. The large cache was contained in a leather basket and in a wooden bowl, and was likely meant to be used by the shaman in the afterlife. "This materially is unequivocally cannabis, and no material has previously had this degree of analysis possible," Russo said in an interview from Missoula, Mont. "It was common practice in burials to provide materials needed for the afterlife. No hemp or seeds were provided for fabric or food. Rather, cannabis as medicine or for visionary purposes was supplied." The tomb also contained bridles, archery equipment and a harp, confirming the man's high social standing. Russo is a full-time consultant with GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine approved in Canada for pain linked to multiple sclerosis and cancer. The company operates a cannabis-testing laboratory at a secret location in southern England to monitor crop quality for producing Sativex, and allowed Russo use of the facility for tests on 11 grams of the tomb cannabis. Researchers needed about 10 months to cut red tape barring the transfer of the cannabis to England from China, Russo said. The inter-disciplinary study was published this week by the British-based botany journal, which uses independent reviewers to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of all submitted papers. The substance has been found in two of the 500 Gushi tombs excavated so far in northwestern China, indicating that cannabis was either restricted for use by a few individuals or was administered as a medicine to others through shamans, Russo said. "It certainly does indicate that cannabis has been used by man for a variety of purposes for thousands of years." Russo, who had a neurology practice for 20 years, has previously published studies examining the history of cannabis. "I hope we can avoid some of the political liabilities of the issue," he said, referring to his latest paper. The region of China where the tomb is located, Xinjiang, is considered an original source of many cannabis strains worldwide. Copyright © 2008 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

The Witch's Hat

I thought this interesting, from Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myth and Secrets," page 44, paperback edition: Apex Pointed conical cap worn by the Roman high priest, Flamen Dialis. When outdoors, he must always have the apex on his head.(1) It was a phallic symbol representing his continual union with the Queen of Heaven. It has been shown that "In the symbolism of dreams and of myths the hat is usually the phallus."(2) The Flamen's wife, the Flaminica, represented the Goddess. She was the more important dignitary of the two. If his marriage was terminated by her death, the Flamen immediately lost his sacred office and reverted to a private citizen. Such customs show that the powers of priests "in Rome as elsewhere, derived in the first instance from an older priesthood of magical women."(3) The same conical cap belonged to the Lord of the Underworld in Celtiberian pagan imagery. He was Helman: a man belonging to the Goddess Hel.(4) Sometimes he was said to be the god Frey, consort of Hel's heavely or lunar aspect, Freya.(5) The same conical cap evolved into the traditional headdress of sorcerers and witches; the Fool's Cap (or Dunce Cap) worn by the Carnival King; the bishop's miter; the pope's tiara; and before them all, the conical crown of Egyptian pharaohs, emblem of the king's union with the Sky-goddess. To the present day, the conical witch-hat is worn by tantric priests and sourcers in Tibet.(6) Notes: (1) Rose, 209. (2) Silberer, 87. (3) Briffault 3, 20-21. (4) Knight, D.W.P., 73. (5) H.R.E. Davidson, P.S., 134. (6) Waddell, 483. **************************************************************************** This information reminded me of something I'd read in "The Mummies of Urumchi" by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. From Subeshi (in the Turfan Basin, to the southeast of Turfan) a woman's mummy was recovered dating to the mid 1st millennium BCE. Among other accoutrements, "she wore a copious woolen skirt stripped horizontally in shades of red, yellow, and brown, with a dark felt hat rising high above her to two conical peaks like a twin-steepled church." (Pages 198-199) Another female body excavated also wore "a terrifically tall, conical hat just like those we depict on witches riding broomsticks at Halloween or on medieval wizards intent at their magical spells. "And that resemblance, strange to say, may be no accident. Our witches and wizards got their tall, pointy hats from just where we also got the words magician and magic, namely, Persia. The Persian or Iranian word magus (cognate with English might, mighty) denoted a priest or sage, of the Zoroastrian religion in particular. ... Magi distinguished themselves with high hats; ... In the conical hats of Subeshi we have yet more evidence sugesting Iranians in the area. But at this date, late in the first millennium BCE, their presence is nt surprising, since soon afterward we begin to get inscriptions along the south side of the Tarim Basis, some written in a provably Iranian dialect. "In addition to first drawing international attention to the unexpectedly western mummies in Urumchi, Victor Mair also surprised Orientalist circles by demonstrating that the Old Chinese word *m(y)ag(2) must come from the same source as magic: Persian magus. Ancient Chinese *m(y)ag denoted powerful individuals at the Chinese courts who, according to Mair's researches, 'were primarily responsible for divination, astrology prayer, and healing with medicines' - pretty much the same list of specialities that the magi had. Futhermore, the Chinese references to and representations of such round-eyed Western 'magicians' considerably antedate the Subeshi conical hats of the first millennium BCE. Some go back even to the Shang Dynasty (1500-1100 BCE)". (Pages 200-202) Interestingly, according to Wiki Classical Dictionary, the Apex (conical white hat) was "made out of the hide of a sacrificed animal, and having an olive branch and woolen thread at the top."