Thanks—I guess I made the mistake of going directly to the journal’s site and searching there.
Some impressions after quickly reading the paper:
They start with the assumption that iron-age warriors took stimulants (based on a comparison to other cultures, rather than any direct evidence) and look for any possible associated artifacts, rather than starting with the artifacts and trying to deduce their use from the context of the finds
They present no corroborating evidence like chemical residues or association with containers that might have held stimulants. They do mention a type of wooden box found in other graves, but no suggestion that the finds are correlated; they also mention metal containers found in female graves—but since the spoonlike artifacts are only found with male burials, there can’t be a correlation there.
If the practice were as widespread as the prevalence of the artifacts suggests, you’d expect some mention by contemporary Romans or Greeks (especially given the description of cannabis use by Herodotus, and the fondness of later Roman historians for imitating him), or some survival into medieval practice or folklore
They mention a number of psychoactive plants based on their potential availability, not evidence of actual use—and not all of them are stimulants, or appropriate for inhalation.
There’s no suggestion that the spoons were a standard size, as would be expected if they were intended for measuring drug doses.
In short, the theory seems a lot more speculative than the Newsweek article implies.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/pz-2024-2017/html?srsltid=AfmBOop4bYqn5BhUClAYyvICkeuID7a9Tqh7YZyf9JKnKAJyNQhgt0zS
The title of the study is “In a narcotic trance, or stimulants in Germanic communities of the Roman period”
Its literally the first result if you Google “Praehistorische Zeitschrift Stimulants”. It’s pretty easy to find.
Thanks—I guess I made the mistake of going directly to the journal’s site and searching there.
Some impressions after quickly reading the paper:
They start with the assumption that iron-age warriors took stimulants (based on a comparison to other cultures, rather than any direct evidence) and look for any possible associated artifacts, rather than starting with the artifacts and trying to deduce their use from the context of the finds
They present no corroborating evidence like chemical residues or association with containers that might have held stimulants. They do mention a type of wooden box found in other graves, but no suggestion that the finds are correlated; they also mention metal containers found in female graves—but since the spoonlike artifacts are only found with male burials, there can’t be a correlation there.
If the practice were as widespread as the prevalence of the artifacts suggests, you’d expect some mention by contemporary Romans or Greeks (especially given the description of cannabis use by Herodotus, and the fondness of later Roman historians for imitating him), or some survival into medieval practice or folklore
They mention a number of psychoactive plants based on their potential availability, not evidence of actual use—and not all of them are stimulants, or appropriate for inhalation.
There’s no suggestion that the spoons were a standard size, as would be expected if they were intended for measuring drug doses.
In short, the theory seems a lot more speculative than the Newsweek article implies.