Discovery savors the very faint aroma of a 1,300-year-old Mayan tobacco flask – the first physical evidence that Mayans used super-strong tobacco:
None of the nicotine by-products associated with the smoking of tobacco was detected, likely ruling out the use of the vessel as an ashtray.
“The tobacco found in that container was probably not used for smoking. It was likely a powdered product,” [Jennifer Loughmiller-Newman, from the State University of New York at Albany] said.
According to the researcher, the tobacco known to the ancient Mayas “was far stronger than the tobacco plants commonly grown today and possibly strong enough to be hallucinogenic.”
Likely mixed with lime, the powdered tobacco from the vessel would have been chewed, consumed as snuff or added to alcohol for stronger drinks.
I’m imagining the “lime” is slaked lime, like the stuff used with betel nut in South Asia. I can’t really imagine ancient Mayans enjoying a hallucinogenic tobacco margarita.