ANT 309 AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF INTOXICANTS

This course explores the role of psychoactive substances and altered states of consciousness in both past and present cultural practice. Students critically engage with current archaeological and ethnographic research to gain an understanding of how intoxicant use has operated within a myriad of past social, ideational, religious, medical, and recreational contexts. Topics include the role of intoxicants in ritual practice; structures of power; healing and medicinal applications of psychoactive plants; gender; identity; and integration of psychoactives within traditional human-environmental relationships.