Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00913-5

ORIGINAL PAPER

Enema syringes in South Andean hallucinogenic

paraphernalia: evidence of their use in funerary contexts
of the Atacama and neighboring zones (ca. AD 500–1500)
Helena Horta-Tricallotis 1 & Javier Echeverría 2 & Verónica Lema 3 & Alethia Quirgas 4,5 & Alejandra Vidal 6

Received: 15 December 2018 / Accepted: 5 August 2019

# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
This study presents the results of our investigation of different archaeological contexts of the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile, for
the purpose of identifying a specific type of bird bone tube that has been proposed as a possible enema syringe—an instrument
used to introduce some kind of alkaloid into the human body through the rectal cavity as part of a psychoactive practice that was
widespread in the South-Central Andes during pre-Hispanic times. To address methodological requirements—such as the need to
identify new specimens from known contexts within museum collections in Chile and abroad and the need for chemical-organic
analyses to identify the function of these tubes—we gathered a sample of tubes from funerary contexts in different parts of the
Circumpuna area. The 25 identified specimens were characterized morphologically and technically, and the residues found were
subjected to organic-chemical analysis. We present the evidence derived from one of these tubes, on the basis of which we
conclude that this artifact is indeed an implement used to introduce alkaloids into the human body anally. Traces of coprostanol
and archaeological human fecal matter were detected for the first time along with the presence of bufotenine, an alkaloid from the
genus Anadenanthera, thereby confirming the connection of enemas to hallucinogenic practices.

Keywords Enema syringe . Hallucinogenic practice . Shamanism . Atacama Desert . Circumpuna area

Introduction

For more than a century, the exceptional conditions for pre-

serving organic material found in the Atacama Desert have
enabled the ongoing investigation of an array of wood, bone,
* Helena Horta-Tricallotis
hhorta@ucn.cl and stone artifacts associated with the pre-Hispanic practice of
snuffing psychotropic substances, a practice that was wide-
* Javier Echeverría
javier.echeverriam@usach.cl spread in the South-Central Andes. The first link in this chain
of numerous generations of researchers who have focused
1 their attention on this practice was forged by the pioneering
Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas and Museo R.P. Gustavo
Le Paige S. J., San Pedro de Atacama, Universidad Católica del proposals of Uhle (1898, 1913, 1915), Lehmann-Nitsche
Norte, Antofagasta, Chile (1904), Ambrosetti (1907), and Boman (1908) and continues
2
Departamento Ciencias del Ambiente, Universidad de Santiago de to the present with the work of among many others (Gili et al.
Chile, Santiago, Chile 2016; Horta 2012, 2014; Horta et al. 2016; Llagostera 2011,
3
Instituto de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional de 2006a, b, 2011; Llagostera et al. 1988; Pastor and Moschettoni
Córdoba-CONICET, Cordoba, Argentina 2018; Pérez Gollán and Gordillo 1993; Pochettino et al. 1999;
4
Departamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Sprovieri 2008–2009; Torres, 1984a, b, 1986, 1987a, b, 1998,
Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile 2001a, b).
5
Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Concepción, One of the main plant species used as a source of psycho-
Concepcion, Chile active compounds in the South-Central Andes was
6
Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil, a species in the
Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile Anadenanthera genus that is distributed over a wide area that

includes Northwest Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru,
where it grows north of the Marañón River valley on the
eastern slopes of the Andes (Reis Altschul 1964; Torres and
Repke 2006). The seeds of this plant are used to prepare the
snuff powder known as “vilca” or “huilca” in Peru and as
“cebil” in Northwest Argentina (Gili et al. 2016).
Psychoactive powders used in the Antilles and in
Colombia’s Orinoco basin, also known as “cohoba” and
“yopo,” respectively, were obtained from A. peregrina var.
peregrina (Schultes 1970; Torres 1986, 1996), the northern-
most species of the genus Anadenanthera, with a range that
stretches from southeast Brazil to the Antilles (Reis Altschul
1964).
The collection housed at the Museo Arqueológico R. P.
Gustavo Le Paige S. J. in San Pedro de Atacama includes
more than 600 trays used for snuffing the crushed powder of
Anadenanthera and an indeterminate number of snuff tubes,
spoons, spatulas, container tubes, small mortars, and pestles,
all implements that—along with textile and leather pouches—
comprised the equipment used for psychotropic consumption.
Included among this varied assemblage of instruments or
paraphernalia are thin tubes of bird bone and cane of similar
sizes that, as we will see below, were relatively overlooked by
researchers because of their simple form. At times, these tubes
have been found housed inside their original cane cases, as
described in the notes of Le Paige (hereafter NLP; Le Paige
1955–1975). We believe that, because of the tubes’ similarity
to the shape of snuff tubes, they have been paid scant attention
and/or been misidentified in the records. The tubes analyzed
by Berenguer and Acevedo (2015), for example, appeared in
the records as tubos para inhalar (snuff tubes). Indeed, for a
long time, these implements were not even recognized as an
artifact of the hallucinogenic complex in their own right, al-
though some researchers did suspect a possible connection.
These include Le Paige who, on certain occasions, refers to
them as tubitos para rapé (tubes for snuffing) (NLP) and
Francisco Téllez, who describes them as dosificadores or
gotarios (dispensers or droppers) in the record books of the
time (see Tables 1 and 2).
The work of Berenguer and Acevedo (2015), upon which
this work on enema syringes is based in direct thematic con-
tinuity, can be credited with opening up a specific line of
investigation within the study of hallucinogenic paraphernalia
by taking as an object of analysis seven specimens of bird
bone tubes from Chiuchiu archaeological site (Loa River,
Antofagasta Region). Despite the fact that no precise contex-
tual associations were available for the items—which are part
of the collection of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in
Santiago, Chile—the abovementioned authors sought to ex-
plain their relationship to psychoactive practices and their ex-
press function in relation to enemas. The abovementioned
work also pointed to the difficulty of extracting residue sam-
ples for conducting chemical analyses, which, if they had been
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
performed, might have allowed the function of these tubes to
be confirmed. However, the interesting hypothesis proposed
by those authors could not be verified, even though it convinc-
ingly argued that the items were shamanic and/or medical-
ritual instruments and that they had served “to introduce liq-
uids into body cavities” (Berenguer and Acevedo 2015: 51).
These authors explain it in this way:
“Owing to the precarious state and the custodial institu-
tion’s strict conservation policy, no (animal or plant) soft
tissue samples were taken to determine species, and our
examinations were limited solely to general observa-
tions under a magnifying glass. The same policy
prevented us from taking samples of these kinds of tis-
sues to determine the possible presence of alkaloids or
other psychoactive substances” (Berenguer and
Acevedo 2015: 55).
In light of this situation, we have attempted to further the
investigation of these implements, about which we had only
fragmented information, and began compiling a sample of
similar specimens housed in different archaeological collec-
tions in Chile and abroad. The investigation presented herein
has emerged from within this framework, and in it, we chose
to employ the nomenclature used by Berenguer and Acevedo
in their description of the constituent parts of these types of
bone tubes. To quote the authors: “the pieces, according to our
deduction, include a dropper, a complete enema or dispenser,
including a leather bulb or ‘bag’, a bird-bone cannula and a
perforated cap” (Berenguer and Acevedo 2015: 72) (Fig. 1).
After analyzing the sample that we had managed to collect, we
reviewed them in terms of what we deemed to be the constit-
uent elements of pre-Hispanic enema implements in the
South-Central Andean region, as well as their ritual aspects.
The Diccionario de la Lengua Española defines the term ene-
ma as follows: “A liquid introduced into the body through the
anus with an instrument suitable for impelling it, and usually
serves to clean out and discharge substances from the intes-
tine” (Translated from the Spanish) (Real Academia
Española[RAE] 2014a, b). This term is also used to indicate
the operation itself and the implement used to perform it. We
thus see that the modern meaning of enema is related to purg-
ing or cleaning the intestines of an individual for merely me-
dicinal purposes.
Bearing in mind the details provided by Berenguer and
Acevedo on the tubes in question, our multidisciplinary team
began to search for specimens with similar characteristics by
studying various collections under FONDECYT Project
1160849 in 2016 and 2017. Thus, the objectives of this re-
search were to detect new tubes and expand the sample, char-
acterize them morphologically, subject them to chemical anal-
ysis, and determine the possible presence of alkaloid compo-
nents and traces of its use rectally.
Table 1 Description and morphological data of the sample of enema syringes analyzed from the Museo Arqueológico R. P. Gustavo Le Paige S.J., San Pedro de Atacama

Site Tomb Code Cannula Proximal end

Material Length Diameter Bulb? Wrapping attached Copper ore Upper wrapping
to cannula? bead? with knot?
Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Coyo Oriente 4137–39 Without code Bone 11.4 cm 0.6 cm Yes Yes, plant fiber cordage No Yes, plant fiber cordage
Coyo Oriente No 17.478 Cane 10.2 cm 0.3 cm Yes Yes, plant fiber cordage Yes, two Yes, same kind of plant
fiber cordage
Catarpe 2 1855 19.457 Bone 5.8 cm 0.3 cm Yes Yes, plant fiber cordage No Yes, same kind of plant
fiber cordage
Sequitor 1680 Without code Cane 12.6 cm 0.4 cm Yes Yes, camelid fiber yarn No Yes, plant fiber cordage
Alambrado
Oriental
Sequitor No 18.251 Bone 8.7 cm 0.4 cm Yes Yes, plant fiber cordage No Yes
Alambrado
Oriental
Solcor 3 1397 Without code Bone 11.6 cm 0.7 cm No No No No
Solcor 3 20 1327 Bone 10.8 cm 0.4 cm No No No No
Quitor 9 No Internal project Bone 11.4 cm 0.3 cm No Yes, plant fiber cordage No No
code: A
Quitor 9 No Internal project Bone 10.9 cm 0.9 cm Yes, remains of Yes, plant fiber cordage No No
code: B animal tissue
bulb
Quitor 5 2254 18.604 Bone 10.4 cm 0.6 cm No No No No
Quitor 5 2245 18.607 Bone 11.3 cm 0.8 cm No No No No
Quitor 5 2150–52 18.627 Bone 12.1 cm 0.9 cm No No No No
Quitor 5 2124–32 18.606 Bone 9.5 cm 0.5 cm No No No No
Quitor 6 2525–26 Without code Bone 11.6 cm 0.5 cm No No No No
Quitor 6 2500 Without code Cane 11.2 cm 0.5 cm No Yes, remains of leather No No
wrapping
Yaye 2 1546 18.245 Bone 10.3 cm 0.6 cm Yes No wrapping, but there is a Yes, thick bead Yes, with light
very thin leather covering brown twisted
attached with braided yarn plant fiber cordage
onto the cannula (now
extremely wrinkled)
Coyo Oriente No No Cane 15.9 cm 4.7 mm Yes Yes, camelid fiber cord (?) No Yes
or
Quitor 2

Site Proximal end Distal end Case? Sample Comments

taken?
Interior inclusion? Orifice size Interior Stopper? Orifice size
inclusions?

Coyo Oriente Possible, although Covered by Possible, although Yes, disc-shaped 0.1 cm Yes, crushed No NLP also mentions a pestle-spatula,
not visible the bulb not visible bone stopper small mortar, and two spatulas,
Table 1 (continued)
now absent. The enema syringe
displays external adhesions
around the incision
where the stopper joins the
cannula.
Coyo Oriente Hollow cane 0.2 cm Hollow cane No 0.5 cm Yes, cane, now absent Yes The records left by F. Téllez state:
“extremely thin tube like a
dispenser, with a little leather
pouch wrapped onto the end?”
Catarpe 2 Possible, although Covered by the Possible, although Yes, bone stopper 0.2 cm Yes, cane, now absent Yes “Long bone with leather on one end”
not visible bulb not visible with stem recorded by C. Agüero in 2000.
NLP’s description reads: “a small
cane case with a snuffing tube
(sic) and leather wrapped at the
end.”
Sequitor Possible, although Covered by the Hollow cane No 0.1 cm Yes, cane No “Long cylindrical case of hard cane,
Alambrado not visible bulb with a beautiful fine little snuffing
Oriental tube (sic), the end covered with
yarn,” NLP.
Sequitor Possible, although Covered by the Possible, although Yes, disc-shaped 0.1 cm No Yes “Thin dispensing tube or dropper,
Alambrado not visible bulb not visible bone stopper hide pouch,” recorded by F. Téllez
Oriental in 1995. The incision where the
cannula meets the stopper
displays dark brown adhesions.
Solcor 3 No 4.9 mm (size No Yes, bone stopper 0.4 mm Yes, description of the context suggests Yes Excavated by Le Paige in 1966.
of the with stem (stopper it may have been inside a “destroyed
medullary orifice) and cane case”
cavity) 3.1 mm
(size of
orifice
without
stopper)
Solcor 3 Hollow cane 0.2 cm None observed No 0.2 cm Yes, according to description of the No Displayed the remains of animal
context, it seems to have been inside skin or hide (Excavated by
a “tubular cane case” no. 1469 Llagostera in 1983).
Quitor 9 Hollow cane 0.3 cm Hollow cane Yes, disc-shaped 0.2 cm No Yes The disc-shaped stopper is
gourd stopper removable, has no stem, and fits
snugly inside the distal end.
Quitor 9 Hollow cane 0.6 cm Cane sunken No Small, sunken No Yes
so no
measure-
ment could
be taken
Quitor 5 Hollow cane 0.2 cm None observed Yes, disc-shaped 0.3 cm Yes, according to the description of Yes Displays marks between the
bone stopper context in NLP, it seems to have inclusion and the bone tube
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Table 1 (continued)
been inside a “small cane case
(completely destroyed)”
Quitor 5 Hollow cane 1.2 cm but the Hollow cane No 0.2 cm According to NLP’s description of the Yes Displays minimal stains. Date
case has context, it might have been inside a obtained by TL: AD 710
collapsed “small cane case now crushed”
Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Quitor 5 Hollow cane 0.2 cm Hollow cane Yes, disc-shaped 0.1 cm No Yes Enema syringe 18.250 was also
bone stopper found in this context, although it
is now absent (see Table 3)
Quitor 5 No 0.7 cm Hollow cane No When the cane No Yes
diameter of was lifted
the and moved
medullary for
cavity, cane sample--
inside has taking, the
collapsed orifice was
seen to be
0.6 cm in
diameter
Quitor 6 No 0.5 cm (size of None observed Yes, disc-shaped 0.1 cm No Yes
medullary bone stopper
cavity)
Quitor 6 Hollow cane 0.2 cm Cactus needle No 0.2 cm Yes, cane with stopper of brown, No NLP mentions for this tomb: “two
inside camelid fiber loop-woven textile. small cane tubes for snuffing
Also contained a second cane tube (sic)”
with no signs of wrapping
Yaye 2 Hollow cane Covered by the Hollow cane No 0.6 cm No Yes “Dispensing tube or dropper,”
bulb displaying knotted leather strip at
one end, recorded by F. Téllez in
1995.
Coyo Oriente None observed Covered by the Hollow cane No 1.1 mm Yes No Enema syringe associated with other
or bulb elements of the hallucinogenic
Quitor 2 paraphernalia, including textile
bundle with 87 cebil seeds.
Table 2 Description and morphological data of the sample of enema syringes analyzed from other museums

Site Tomb Code Cannula Proximal end

Material Length Diameter Bulb? Wrapping attached to Copper ore bead?

cannula?

Museo Histórico Chiuchiu No 11806 Bone 10.7 cm 0.6 cm Yes Yes, wrapped with camelid No
Nacional, Santiago fiber cord
Chiuchiu No 12299 Bone 9 cm 0.5 cm No No No
Museo Arqueológico Chiuchiu 6 4395/62 Bone 12.3 cm 0.7 cm Yes Yes, wrapped with camelid Yes, thick bead
San Miguel de fiber cord
Azapa, Universidad Chiuchiu 9 4439/62 Bone 10.3 cm 0.5 cm Yes Yes, wrapped with camelid No
de Tarapacá, Arica fiber cord
National Museum of the American Chiuchiu No 177940 Bone ? ? Yes Yes, wrapped with camelid No
Indian, Washington fiber cord
Museo de La Plata San Juan Mayo I No 3468 (3885) Bone 6.6 cm 0.3 cm Yes No, but there is animal No
tissue adhered to the
cannula with the imprint
of wrapping that is now
absent
Sta. Catalina No 3463 (3880) Bone 8.3 cm 0.3 cm Yes Yes, double-length cord of No
leather/rawhide.
Remains of leather under
the wrapping, apparently
from the bulb
Sta. Catalina No 3464 (3881) Bone 9.2 cm 0.6 cm No No No

Proximal end Distal end Case? Sample Comments

taken?
Upper wrapping Interior inclusion? Orifice size Interior inclusions? Stopper? Orifice Size
with knot?

Museo Histórico Yes, with light brown None observed ? Hollow canes No, although ? No Yes Oyarzún Collection 1937.
Nacional, Santiago twisted plant fiber because the Displayed the remains of
cord tube is broken leather or animal hide
at the distal covering and dense
end, it is black adhesions.
impossible to
confirm
whether or not
it ever had one
No Hollow cane ? Hollow cane No ? No Yes A. Oyarzún Collection
1937.
Museo Arqueológico Yes, with light brown Possible, although None Possible, although Yes, disc-shaped None No No Excavated by Dauelsberg
San Miguel de twisted plant fiber not visible observed not visible bone stopper observed in 1962.
Azapa, Universidad cord?
de Tarapacá, Arica No No
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Table 2 (continued)
Yes, with light brown Possible, although None Possible, although Yes, bone stopper None Excavated by Dauelsberg
twisted plant fiber not visible observed not visible with stem observed in 1962.
cord?
National Museum of the Yes Possible, although ? Possible, although Yes, bone stopper ? Yes, cane No
American not visible not visible with stem and case with
Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Indian, Washington dark stains animal

around the leather
perimeter cap
Museo de La Plata No, but there is No Unable to No No 0.2 cm Cane case Yes 6.6 cm of bone cannula
animal tissue observe with and 4 cm of bulb
adhered to the (covered sections protruding from the
cannula with the by the wrapped cannula (and 2 cm of the
imprint of bulb) with thin bulb inside the cannula,
wrapping that is animal which makes the bulb
now absent tendon 6 cm long in total,
strips. almost the same length
Also as the bone cannula).
containe- Along with two
d two additional unworked
addition- bird bone tubes in the
al cane case. Gerling
un- Collection.
worked
bird bone
tubes
No No The orifice seems to Yes, a small metal 0.1 cm No Yes Sediment adhered to the
0.2 × 0.4 have been plugged disc with a wrapping where it joins
cm with resin or 0.5 mm the cannula.
similar substance perforation that
(mentioned by Lehmann-Nits-
Lehmann-Nitsche che mentioned
1904) in 1904 is
absent today.
No No ? None observed Yes, bone stopper 0.6 cm No Yes Displays abundant external
with stem adhesions.

Fig. 1 Enema syringe 4439/62 from tomb 9 of Chiuchiu. Complete
specimen with all parts. Museo Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa
Collection, Arica (photo: the authors)
Fig. 2 Sample of enemas from pre-Hispanic cemeteries and belonging to
the Museo Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection, San
Pedro de Atacama. (a) W/o code, tomb 4137–4139 of Coyo Oriente;
(b) code 17.478, no tomb specified of Coyo Oriente; (c) code 19.457,
tomb 1855 of Catarpe 2; (d) w/o code, tomb 1680 of Sequitor A. Oriental;
(e) code 18.251, no tomb specified, Sequitor A. Oriental; (f) w/o code,
tomb 1397 of Solcor 3; (g) code 1327, tomb 20 of Solcor 3; (h) “A,” no
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Sample collected
The collection studies carried out consisted of observing in detail
the composition of the grave goods of eight pre-Hispanic ceme-
teries of the oases of San Pedro de Atacama; as already men-
tioned, all this material is deposited in the Museo Arqueológico
R. P. Gustavo Le Paige S. J. in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. On
those occasions, it was possible to contrast the archaeological
material existing today in the museum with the artifacts recorded
in the NLP, who carried out excavations in the decades of 1955–
1975. His work included the brief description of each object
found in the different tombs, as well as the sketch of some of
them. Both the written record and the diagrams have allowed us
to visualize—by means of the data base—the artifactual compo-
sition by tomb and cemetery, to then submit this information to a
comparative analysis that resulted in the characterization of the
differences between tombs and cemeteries (quantity and quality
of objects, frequency of some artifacts, stable correlation between
them, among others). The detection of the different enemas ana-
lyzed in this investigation was derived from the examination of
grave goods, with special emphasis on the components of the
snuffing paraphernalia.
Thus, 25 tubes were identified (21 of bird bone and four of
cane; see Tables 1 and 2) in the collections of Chilean museums
such as the Museo Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S.J. in
San Pedro de Atacama (17 specimens), the Museo Arqueológico
San Miguel de Azapa at the Universidad de Tarapacá (two spec-
imens), the Museo Histórico Nacional in Santiago (two speci-
mens), Argentine museum as the Museo de La Plata (three spec-
imens), and the National Museum of the American Indian in
Washington D.C., USA (one specimen) (Figs. 2 and 3). All of
the specimens came from cemeteries attributed to the Middle,
tomb specified, Quitor 9; (i) “B,” no tomb specified, Quitor 9; (j) code
18.604, tomb 2254 of Quitor 5; (k) code 18.607, tomb 2245 of Quitor 5;
(l) code 18.627, tomb 2150-52 of Quitor 5; (m) code 18.606, tomb 2124–
2132 of Quitor 5; (n) w/o code, tomb 2525–2526 of Quitor 6; (o) w/o
code, tomb 2500 of Quitor 6; (p) code 18.245, tomb 1546 of Yaye 2; (q)
w/o code, no tomb specified, Coyo Oriente or Quitor 2 (Photo: the
authors)
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Fig. 3 Sample of enemas from pre-Hispanic cemeteries and belonging
from other museums. Museo Histórico Nacional de Santiago Collection:
(a) code 11.806, from Chiuchiu; (b) code 12.299, from Chiuchiu; Museo
Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa Collection, Arica: (c) code
4395/62, tomb 6 of Chiuchiu; (d) code 4439/62, tomb 9 of Chiuchiu;
Late Intermediate, and Late periods (AD 500–1500), which
points to a longer chronological timeframe than was previously
indicated for the practices in question (enemas). At the same
time, we expanded the geographic distribution known to date
for this kind of artifact to include the Atacama Salt Flat and the
Jujuy Puna in Argentina, as it was previously limited to Chiuchiu
(based on the provenance of the tubes analyzed by Berenguer
and Acevedo (2015), attributed to the Late Intermediate period).
Owing to publication constraints, on this occasion, we will only
present the sample we have collected and the results of the anal-
yses obtained from them, reserving for a future publication the
information derived from the contextual study of the artifacts.
Specimens from San Pedro de Atacama,
Atacama Salt Flat, Chile (AD 500–1500)
This is the first characterization of this kind of artifact from the
San Pedro de Atacama oases, Northern Chile. Through the
study of artifact assemblages preserved from different ceme-
teries, it has been possible to establish the presence of enema
syringes in the funerary contexts of Sequitor Alambrado
Oriental, Coyo Oriente, Solcor 3, Quitor 5, Quitor 6, Quitor
9, Yaye 2, and Catarpe 2 (Fig. 4). Of the specimens alluded to,
only four do not include information on the specific tomb they
were found in, although we do know the cemeteries where
they were discovered (two tubes from Quitor 9, one from
Sequitor Alambrado and a tube of indeterminate provenance,
but probably from either the Coyo Oriente cemetery or that of
Quitor 2).
Archaeological Division-Faculty of Natural Sciences and Museum,
Universidad Nacional de La Plata: (e) code 3468 (3885), no tomb
specified, San Juan de Mayo 1; (f) code 3463 (3880), no tomb
specified, Santa Catalina; (g) code 3464 (3881) no tomb specified,
Santa Catalina (Photo: the authors)
In all, we identified 17 tubes with the features associated
with enema syringes (see Table 1), four of them made of cane,
the rest of bone (the generic terms used here to denote the raw
materials associated with the different parts of the enema sy-
ringes are preliminary, and future analyses may enable a more
precise identification). According to taxonomic descriptions
of Berenguer and Acevedo, these bones may correspond to the
ulna of the parina or Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus
andinus) and the tibia-tarsal of the heron (Ardea alba)
(Berenguer and Acevedo 2015: 59). Regarding their dimen-
sions, the lengths range from 7.3 to 15.9 cm and diameters
from 0.3 to 1 cm. A brief description of each of these tubes and
their essential aspects follows below; further details can be
found in the abovementioned table.
Specimen w/o code from tomb 4137–4139
of the Coyo Oriente cemetery (Fig. 2a)
This enema syringe is especially relevant, because it was discov-
ered inside a textile pouch along with other classic implements of
the hallucinogenic complex (that set included a leather pouch
with the opening folded and wrapped with a camelid fiber cord;
a wooden snuff tube and a cane case bound in fine leather),
although no snuff tray was found in the set. It is reasonable to
assume that the tube may originally have been stored in a cane
case, although it is now grouped together with the other items
inside the textile pouch. This tube is one of six complete speci-
mens in our sample; as in addition to the tube (cannula) itself,
there is a bulb, wrapping, a circular bone stopper and most likely
an inner cane as well. It should be clarified here that for the

Fig. 4 Map showing the cemeteries mentioned in the text (Production: Nicolás Salinas)
enema syringes considered complete, the inner cane tube is only
inferred, because the ends of the cannula (outer tube) are hermet-
ically sealed and therefore we could not observe inside them.
Specimen code 17.478, no tomb specified, from Coyo
Oriente cemetery (Fig. 2b)
This is one of the most interesting items in the sample because
of its degree of completeness; it includes a cannula (outer
tube), bulb, wrapping on both ends and two decorative copper
ore beads (Fig. 5a). It is also one of the few specimens that
were found inside a cane case, which is now absent but
attested to by an earlier sketch (Fig. 5b). In its present state,
the bulb is detached and the cannula has lost some of the cord
that was wrapped around its upper end and attached the copper
ore beads to the cannula.
Specimen code 19.457 from tomb 1855 of the Catarpe
2 cemetery (Fig. 2c)
Largely intact—it still has the bulb and the wrapping that
kept the bulb attached to the cannula, as well as a removable
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
stopper with stem and probably an inner cane tube—this
specimen is the second of the six complete enema syringes
in the sample from San Pedro de Atacama (Fig. 6a, b). It is
worth to mention that a sample of human bone from a near-
by tomb (1849–1850) in the same cemetery obtained a 14C
dating of cal AD 1221–1382 (Hubbe et al. 2011), and a
sample from a camelid bone tube from tomb 1852–1853,
analyzed at the Beta Analytic laboratory, was dated at 1280
± 30 BP (Beta-485444, bone; δ13 = − 17.7 ‰). This was
calibrated in AD cal 662–774 at 95.4% with the SHCal13
curve at 2σ (Hogg et al. 2013) using OxCal 4.3.2 (Bronk
Ramsey 2009).
Specimen w/o code from tomb 1680 of the Sequitor
Alambrado Oriental cemetery (Fig. 2d)
In addition to the cane case, this specimen also still has the
wrapping that kept the bulb attached to the cannula, which in
this case is made of cane. A long cactus thorn was also found
inside the case and a small pouch with other two cactus thorns
wrapped in camelid fiber yarns (Fig. 7a–c).
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Fig. 5 Cane enema syringe code 17.478, no tomb specified, from Coyo
Oriente, Museo Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection. a
Current condition of enema syringe with bulb detached, view of bulb
broken and two copper ore beads untied to the upper wrapping. b
Sketch created by V. Varela in 1984 during her professional internship
at the San Pedro de Atacama museum, attesting to the fact that the enema
syringe was intact and inside its cane case at that time (Photo: the authors)
Specimen code 18.251, no tomb specified,
from Sequitor Alambrado Oriental cemetery (Fig. 2e)
From the third of the six complete enema syringes we have
identified, this specimen includes some remains of the wrap-
ping that attached the bulb to the cannula and, at the distal end,
a removable bone stopper. A dark continuous stain can be
observed around the slit where the stopper meets the cannula.
Again, in this case, we also infer the presence of an inner cane
tube.
Specimen w/o code from tomb 1397 of the Solcor 3
cemetery (Fig. 2f)
This specimen only preserves the cannula with a perforated
bone stopper. The stopper is the only one that we were able to
Fig. 6 Bone enema syringe. a Bone enema syringe code 19.457 from
tomb 1855 of the Catarpe 2 cemetery. b View of the removable bone
stopper with hole drilled through the center. Museo Arqueológico R.P.
Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (Photo:
the authors)
easily remove from the cannula, because of which we could
observe the interior part of the stopper and confirm that it has a
“mushroom” shape (bone stopper with stem) as well as a hole
that runs entirely through it (Fig. 8a, b). We also could take
measures of both stopper orifice and the size of cannula orifice
without the stopper (see Table 1).
Specimen code 1327 from tomb 20 of the Solcor 3
cemetery (Fig. 2g)
This specimen is in poor condition, with only the remains of a
thin leather strip adhered to its proximal end that is a remnant
of the bulb; the corresponding wrapping has been lost, but the
inner cane can still be seen inside the proximal end. According
to the description of the context, this artifact was apparently
found inside a “tubular cane case” no. 1469 (information ex-
tracted from inventory document, “Inventario por tumbas del
cementerio Solcor 3” from the excavation conducted by A.
Llagostera and L. Bravo in 1983).
Specimen “A,” no tomb specified, from the Quitor 9
cemetery (Fig. 2h)
This enema syringe still has a small scrap of cord from the
original wrapping, as well as a disc-shaped gourd stopper and
a perforated cane tube in the interior.

Fig. 7 Cane enema syringe. a Cane enema syringe w/o code from tomb
1680 of the Sequitor Alambrado Oriental cemetery. b Cactus thorn that
also was inside the case. c The cane case that contained the enema. Museo
Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection, San Pedro de
Atacama, Chile (Photo: the authors)
Specimen “B,” no tomb specified, from the Quitor 9
cemetery (Fig. 2i)
This artifact has lost its bulb, although some of the plant fiber
cordage that attached the bulb to the cannula is still wrapped
around the end of the tube; between that wrapping and the
bone of the cannula are the remains of very thin animal tissue
that may be the remains of the bulb. Sunken inside the cannula
is what appears to be a length of hollow cane.
Specimen code 18.604 from tomb 2254 of the Quitor
5 cemetery (Fig. 2j)
The parts preserved on this specimen include the inner cane
tube and a disc-shaped perforated bone stopper, inserted firm-
ly into the distal end.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Fig. 8 Bone enema syringe. a Bone enema syringe w/o code from tomb
1397 of the Solcor 3 cemetery. b Detail of the distal end showing the
removable bone stopper with central orifice. Museo Arqueológico R.P.
Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (Photo:
the authors)
Specimen code 18.607 from tomb 2245 of the Quitor
5 cemetery (Fig. 2k)
This is one of the least intact specimens in the sample, as it
includes only the cannula and the inner cane tube. This tomb
has been dated by TL to AD 1270 ± 110 = 710 AD (ceramic
sample; Berenguer et al. 1986).
Specimen code 18.627 from tomb 2150–2152
of the Quitor 5 cemetery (Fig. 2l)
The conserved parts of this tube include the inner cane tube
and the perforated disc-shaped bone stopper, firmly inserted
into the distal end.
Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Specimen code 18.606 from tomb 2124–2132

of the Quitor 5 cemetery (Fig. 2m)

Triangular-shaped with polished edges, this specimen only

preserves the cannula and inner cane.

Specimen w/o code from tomb 2525–2526

of the Quitor 6 cemetery (Fig. 2n)

The conserved parts of this tube include the cannula, the inner
cane tube, and the perforated disc-shaped bone stopper
inserted into the distal end.

Specimen w/o code from tomb 2500 of the Quitor 6

cemetery (Fig. 2o)

This enema syringe was found, along with another flat cane
tube, inside a cylindrical cane case with an unusual stopper
made of camelid fiber textile in a looping technique. The
enema syringe still has the inner cane and remnants of the
leather strip that wrapped around the cannula and connected
the bulb to it.

Specimen code 18.245 from tomb 1546 of the Yaye 2

cemetery (Fig. 2p)
This is another of the most intact specimens, as not only does
it still have fine leather adhered to the proximal end of the tube
(formerly hidden by a wrapping that is now absent), but it also
has a bulb adorned with a copper ore bead as well as the inner
cane (Fig. 9a, b). Analyses of the dark adhesions around the
stopper conclusively confirmed the identity and function of
this kind of artifact and will be discussed in detail below.
Fig. 9 Bone enema syringe. a Bone enema syringe code 18.245 from
tomb 1546 of Yaye 2. b Detail of the distal end with polished, beveled
edges as well as the inner cane tube and central orifice. Museo
Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S. J. Collection, San Pedro de
Atacama, Chile (Photo: the authors)
find points to an interesting link between the hallucinogenic
paraphernalia and the manufacturing of copper ore beads, a
topic that we explore in another work (Horta and Faundes
2018).

Specimen w/o code, no tomb specified,

of indeterminate provenance but attributable to Coyo Specimens from Chiuchiu, Loa River basin,
Oriente or Quitor 2 (Fig. 2q) Chile (AD 1000–1400)

This is a cane enema syringe that still has both the bulb and
wrapping. It is especially important because—like the enema
without code of Coyo Oriente—it was found inside a textile
bag that contained other elements of the hallucinogenic com-
plex, although the snuff tray itself is absent. Also found inside
the bag were a bone snuff tube; wooden spatula; a small leath-
er pouch with unidentified contents; the enema syringe men-
tioned inside a case made of cane; and two small pouches
made of repurposed textile fragments. One of those contained
87 cebil seeds (Anadenanthera colubrina Vell. Brenan)
(Fig. 10a), while the second contained derivatives from the
manufacture of copper mineral beads. Also notable was the
presence of a bag (also made of a repurposed textile fragment),
which contained, along with copper ore chunks and beads, at
least another 100 cebil seeds (A. colubrina) (Fig. 10b). This
The specimens our team collected enabled us to expand the
sample identified by Berenguer and Acevedo for this locality
by five new enemas. We achieved this partially by studying
two specimens housed at the Museo Histórico Nacional in
Santiago of Chile that were discovered during Aureliano
Oyarzún’s 1937 expedition to Chiuchiu. They have no con-
textual references, although we know that the material in ques-
tion has been dated to the Late Intermediate (AD 1000–1400).
These specimens are described below (see Table 2).
Specimen code 11806, no tomb specified,
from Chiuchiu (Fig. 3a)
Although there is no contextual information about this item,
this enema syringe is extremely interesting as it still has the
 Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Fig. 10 Evidence of
manufacturing of cooper ore
beads linked with hallucinogenic
paraphernalia. a Bundle made of
repurposed textile with 87 cebil
seeds (Anadenanthera colubrina)
inside, from the Coyo Oriente or
Quitor 2 cemetery, no tomb
specified. b Textile bag with
content composed of cebil seeds
(A. colubrina) and derivatives of
the manufacture of copper
mineral beads (Photo: H. Horta)

cannula, wrappings, bulb, and interior cane (Fig. 11). Around
the distal end, now fractured and with a longitudinal crack (as
though it has been pressed upon), stains and dark colored
adhesions can be observed.
Specimen code 12299, no tomb specified,
from Chiuchiu (Fig. 3b)
This enema syringe is one of the least intact, as only
the cannula and the interior cane have been preserved.
The outer tube has been carefully polished, and the ends
are beveled.
Our search also turned up two specimens with the
enema format at the Museo Arqueológico de San
Miguel de Azapa in Arica, Chile, a detailed description
of which can be found below. Both have known con-
texts and were found during modern-day excavations;
they are also excellently conserved and intact, making
them exceptional specimens. The two tubes are comple-
mentary in terms of their absent elements, with one
having a decorative copper ore bead strung onto the
cord wrapped around the proximal end, and the other,
in contrast, having a removable stopper inserted into the
distal end.
Specimen code 4395/62 from tomb 6 of Chiuchiu (Fig.
3c)
This is the fourth of six complete enema syringes in the
sample and exhibits the cannula with bulb, wrapping
and perforated disc-shaped stopper, as well as a thick
copper ore bead (Fig. 12a, b) similar to those found
with the specimens from Coyo Oriente and Yaye 2.
As in previous cases, the presence of an inner cane is
inferred.
Specimen code 4439/62 from 9 of Chiuchiu (Fig. 3d)
This is the fifth complete enema syringe in the sample and in-
cludes the cannula with bulb, wrapping, and a perforated bone
stopper with stem (see also Fig. 1). Like the other complete
specimens, here too we infer the presence of the interior cane
tube.
Specimen code 177940, no tomb specified,
from Chiuchiu
This is the sixth specimen from the locality of Chiuchiu and
also corresponds to a complete enema syringe, accompanied
by its respective case. We were recently granted access to this
artifact at the National Museum of the American Indian in
Washington DC, where it is part of the collection. Here, too
we have inferred the presence of an interior cane tube, as the
ends of the tube itself are hermetically sealed.
This specimen was referred to in an addendum by
Berenguer and Acevedo (2015) as follows:
“The objects are crucial to our article: first of all, be-
cause one of them has all of the pieces that an enema
syringe or dispenser should have, according to our de-
ductions, including the leather bulb or bladder the bird-
bone cannula and the perforated stopper; second, be-
cause the object was found inside a case made of cane
or bamboo, confirming our conjecture that these instru-
ments were stored in holders of this kind” (72).
Effectively, 12 of the enema syringes we analyzed have
associated cane tubes that functioned as protective cases
(see Fig. 7c); indeed, in his notes, Le Paige refers on
many occasions to the “little cane cases” with tubes in-
side, which the author believed were snuff tubes, as we
have mentioned (see Tables 1 and 2). However, in our
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Fig. 11 Bone enema syringe code 11806, no tomb specified, from
Chiuchiu. Museo Histórico Nacional de Santiago de Chile Collection
(Photo H. Horta)
Fig. 12 Bone enema syringe. a) Bone enema syringe code 4395/62 from
tomb 6 of Chiuchiu. b) Detail of proximal end with a thick copper ore
bead. Museo Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa Collection, Arica,
Chile (Photo: H. Horta)
study of assemblages of grave goods in the Atacama Salt
Flat, we have found no snuff tubes inside holders of any
kind; we infer from this that the enema syringes received
special handling. We should add that, owing to their fra-
gility, many of these “little cases” have been found
completely destroyed or crushed under the weight of other
grave goods in the burial space.
Specimens from the Jujuy Puna, Argentina
(AD 1000–1500)
The specimens currently housed in the Museo de La Plata were
published originally by Lehmann-Nitsche (1904), who indicated
that they were found in graves in the cemeteries of San Juan
Mayo and Santa Catalina in the Jujuy Puna along with other
psychoactive paraphernalia implements. This group of imple-
ments recovered from the two cemeteries point to a chronology
dating from the Late to the Inka periods, as has been corroborated
 Archaeol Anthropol Sci

by recent radiocarbon datings obtained for the San Juan Mayo

subregion (AD 1000–1500) (Nielsen et al. 2015).

Specimen code 3468 (3885) from the San Juan Mayo

cemetery (Fig. 3e)

This item displays a desiccated bulb with the imprints of wrap-

ping that has since been lost. The bulb is unusually long—
almost as long as the cannula itself which is broken—and may
be made of animal intestine. According to the catalog entry,
the case originally held two other very thin bird bone tubes
that bear no signs of having been shaped (Lehmann-Nitsche
1904). Both are now part of the collection. This evidence leads
us to believe that these additional bones could have been raw
material held in reserve to make tubes.

Specimen code 3463 (3880) from the Santa Catalina

cemetery (Fig. 3f)

This item is in poor condition, displaying on scant remnants of

wrapping that was formerly wrapped around the proximal end
of the finely polished cannula. Lehmann-Nitsche (1904) reports
that this end of the tube was covered with a cord made of tree
bark; however, analysis with a binocular magnifying glass in-
dicates that the remains are animal tissue (see Table 2). The
abovementioned author also reported the presence of a small,
paper-thin metal disc with a 0.5-mm perforation at the other Fig. 13 Enema syringe. a Enema syringe no. 70.19.15c and cane case no.
70.19.15a-b from the Niño Korin site, Charasani, Bolivia. b Detail of the
end of the piece, but this element is absent from the collection.
proximal end with the bulb. Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World
He also questions the function of the artifact, associating it with Cultures) Collection, Gothenburg, Sweden (Photos: Ina Ashaug)
a snuff tube or “medical instrument” (Lehmann-Nitsche 1904).

Specimen code 3464 (3881) from the Santa Catalina

cemetery (Fig. 3g) end were recorded the presence or absence of bulb, wrap-
ping attached to the cannula, copper ore bead, upper
This tube has a perforated bone stopper with stem as well as wrapping with knot, interior inclusions, and orifice size.
dark adherences around the distal end. Meanwhile, the presence or absence of interior inclusions,
Special mention should be made of a cane enema syringe stoppers, and orifice size was registered for the distal end.
with case, also of cane, discovered together at the Niño Korin In addition, the presence or absence of a cane case was
site in Charasani, Bolivia (Wassén 1972, 1979) and referred to recorded for each enema syringe.
in Berenguer and Acevedo’s work. We were fortunate enough Table 3 displays the level of intactness of the specimens in
to study the items up close and photograph them (Fig. 13a, b), the entire sample analyzed, indicating the near parity between
confirming through comparison with the specimens in our
sample that Wassén was correct in his estimation that this type
Table 3 Degree of
of tube corresponds to an enema syringe (Wassén 1972: 76). completeness of the Total bone cannulas 21
enema syringes analyzed Total cane cannulas 4
Complete syringes 6
Morphological analysis of enema syringes Semi-complete syringes 13
Incomplete syringes 6
The method used was based on analyzing the morphology Syringes with bulb 13 (52%)
of the three main parts that make up each enema syringe: Syringes with wrapping 14 (56%)
cannula, proximal end, and distal end. In each of them, Syringes with stopper 12 (48%)
different parameters were evaluated; material, length, and Syringes with cane case 12 (48%)
diameter were recorded for the cannula. For the proximal
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
complete enema syringes (six specimens possessing the five
integrating elements—the tube or cannula, bulb, interior cane
tube, wrapping and stopper), semi-complete enema syringes
(13 specimens; this category includes all those possessing three
or four of the essential elements), and incomplete enema syrin-
ges (six specimens having two of the elements mentioned).
Bulb and wrapping
The wrapping (of plant fiber, camelid fiber, or rawhide/leath-
er) is an important indicator that the tube originally had an
attached bulb, which is in itself an essential feature of an
enema syringe and at the same time distinguishes it from other
bone tubes of the snuffing paraphernalia (container tube and
snuff tube). It is worth noting, then, that 56% of the tubes in
our sample still have wrapping on them, which also allows us
to assume that the others did, too, in the past. On this point, we
would like to address Berenguer and Acevedo’s proposal that
there may have been two different kinds of enema apparatus-
es: “syringe enemas” and “tube enemas”:
“It is common for ethnographic reports to use the term
enema to denote the liquid preparation injected into the
rectum of an individual using a utensil consisting of a
flexible semi-spherical chamber and a rigid tube that
serves as a cannula (Ackerknetch 1949: fig. 188;
Rubber 1949). Nevertheless, along with these “syringe
enemas,” it is also worth noting that different studies
also mention “tube enemas,” meaning cannulas without
bulbs through which the liquid would have been
injected directly into the rectum through a hollow cane
or bone tube (Ackerknetch 1949: 637; Nordenskiöld
1930: 184-185)” (Berenguer and Acevedo 2015: 64).
In our opinion, this division can be refuted as the data in the
atacamenian tube sample indicates that the number of tubes
with wrapping or indications of wrapping is high (14) and that
even those that no longer have wrapping (11) show signs of
having had removable stoppers and cane cases (specimen
from tomb 1397 of Solcor 3) or simply cases (San Juan
Mayo code 3468). Meanwhile, the rest of the specimens with-
out wrapping have, without exception, an inner cane and stop-
pers (see Tables 1 and 2). For these reasons, we argue that
there is only one type of implement (“syringe enema”), com-
posed of a cannula that ended in a flexible bulb that could be
used to “pump” the liquid or solution. However, Berenguer
and Acevedo (2015) were correct in suggesting that the plant
matter that fills most of the interior would have made it virtu-
ally impossible to expel any powdered substance through the
millimeter-wide perforation. It is our contention, however, that
a finely crushed powder in liquid suspension could in fact
have been expelled through the tube into the rectum of the
individual by exerting controlled pressure on the bulb. All of
the evidence seems to indicate that the bone enema syringe
was filled from the distal end after the stopper had been re-
moved. On this point, it seems to us that the presence of a
removable stopper would also have made it easier to load the
substance to be administered into the cannula of the enema
syringe, instead of filling it from the proximal end, which
would have required the removal of the cord wrapping, a
much more complicated operation.
Inner cane tubes
It is worth noting that, among specimens where it was possible
to observe the interior of the cannula from one or both ends of
the tube, we found a significant number had inclusions in the
interior (see Tables 1 and 2). In a good number of both bird
bone and cane enema syringes, we could observe the remains
of a hollow cane inside the cannula (14 specimens).
As for the cannulas themselves, although most were fash-
ioned out of bird bone, four of them were made of cane. While
more precise identification is needed, based on the diameters
of the hollow stems and the parallel veining observed on their
exterior bark, we believe that these “canes” may actually be
the stalks of different species of the Poaceae grass family.
Indeed, among the local flora of the Atacama oases, one can
easily find Cortaderia atacamensis (Phil.) Pilg. (also called
cortadera, cola de zorro), the stalks of which are consistent
with the macroscopic features mentioned above. Additionally,
the stalks of the flowering Typha angustifolia L. (totora,
Thypaceae, bulrush) have a diameter and a hollow stem suit-
able for use as a dispensing tube. While Typha is not widely
distributed in the oases and ravines of the Atacama Salt Flat
today, it is present in Tarapacá Region and has been found in
Formative contexts in that region. It would be possible to test
these potential candidate taxa by histological cross sections
alone, and we hope to perform these in future.
Stoppers with and without stems
It is worth noting that 57% of the sample of bone enema
syringes we analyzed have stoppers. Furthermore, only enema
cannulas made of bone have removable perforated stoppers,
whether disc-shaped or with stem, and most of those stoppers
are made of bone. Here it is worth mentioning the recent work
of Nielsen (2018), who reports “droppers,” following the no-
menclature of Berenguer and Acevedo. One of them comes
from tomb 21 of the Necropolis A of La Isla, Tilcara, as part of
a conspicuous trousseau and kept its stopper. He also mentions
another 4 specimens from the site of Muyuna, Quebrada de
Humahuaca, Argentina; these are incomplete bone enemas, of
which two have removable bone stoppers, similar to the

specimens detected by us. In several specimens—the enema
“A” from Quitor 9, for example—the inner cane does not
extend all the way to the distal end of the cannula but ends
some 5–6 mm before, precisely to leave room for the stopper
to fit snugly. In the “distal end” column of Tables 1 and 2, the
“orifice size” corresponds to the diameter of the orifice of the
stopper-dispenser, when it is present. From this we infer, for
those cases in which the stopper is now absent but where the
inner cane can be seen inside the cannula, that the stopper was
originally part of the apparatus but was not preserved. Given
that the stoppers analyzed have very small perforations (usu-
ally around 0.5 mm) that extend their entire length, it is clear
that their function was not to completely obstruct the end of
the cannula, but instead to control the exit of liquid from it. We
thus consider the stoppers to stopper dispensers. These ele-
ments, combined with the use of inner canes or bones of
different diameters, point to the precise management of the
dosage and careful attention to how the contents of the tube
were administered (in the specimen from tomb 1397 of Solcor
3, for example, the orifice at the distal end of the bone with the
stopper removed is 3.1 mm, but when the stopper is put in
place, the diameter of the exit hole is just 0.4 mm).
Organic chemical analysis
Chemical analysis of the residues present on the enema syrin-
ges was performed using gas chromatography coupled with
mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Visual inspection of the archae-
ological enema syringes revealed a number (17 specimens in
all; see Tables 1 and 2) with residues, and those were chosen
for analysis. The residues appeared on the bulb, the distal end
of the tube or both. All sampling implements (Petri dishes,
glass funnels, vials and toothpicks) were washed with a mix-
ture of mild soap and water followed by 95% ethyl alcohol,
rinsed with distilled water, and finally dried in an oven.
Artifacts were carefully manipulated using powder-free
gloves (one pair of gloves used for each piece). The residues
were extracted by scraping of the interior surface of the bulb
and/or the interior or exterior surface(s) of the tube with a
metal instrument, scalpel, or acupuncture needle previously
sterilized with isopropyl alcohol. The solid residue from an
archaeological object was extracted with 500 mL of mixture of
chloroform-methanol 2:1 (HPLC grade, J.T.Baker, USA) by
maceration in an ultrasonic bath (Power Sonic 405, Hwashin
Technology, Korea) at medium intensity for 15 min at 25 °C.
The suspension was subsequently vortexed at ambient temper-
ature for 60 min and filtered through glass syringe with PTFE
membrane filters of 0.22 μm and 30 mm diameter using an
additional 500 μL aliquot of mixture chloroform-methanol
2:1. The extract was collected in a 2-mL amber vial with a
Teflon-lined screw cap and evaporated to dryness under nitro-
gen. The solid residue was transferred into a 300-mL glass
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
insert by means of successive washes with 100, 50, and
20 mL of methanol, thus minimizing the amount of extract
retained in the vial walls. The solution was evaporated to
dryness and the extract reconstituted with 20 mL of methanol.
GC/MS analysis was performed with a Shimadzu model
GCMSQP 2010 Ultra gas chromatograph (Shimadzu, Kyoto,
Japan), equipped with an Rtx-5MS Crossbond 5% diphenyl-
95% dimethyl polysiloxane (Restek, Bellefonte, PA, USA)
capillary GC column (30 m length, 0.25 mm I.D., 0.25 mm
film thickness). The GC was operated in the splitless injection
mode; injection volume was 1 mL or 5 mL for scan and SIM
modes, respectively. The column temperature was held at
30 °C for 3 min, raised at 25 °C/min to 230 °C, and maintained
for 10 min at 230 °C. The carrier gas was helium at a flow rate
of 1.3 mL/min. The mass spectrometer was used in the elec-
tron impact ionization mode (70 eV) with an emission current
of 250 mA. The temperatures of the injection port, ion source,
and transfer line were 250 °C, 250 °C, and 280 °C, respec-
tively. The instrument was operated in the scan modes. To
verify our hypothesis that these kinds of archaeological arti-
facts were used as enema syringes, the GC-MS testing
searched specifically for tryptaminic alkaloids from the genus
Anadenanthera and for fecal stanols; hence, the analytical
methods were oriented toward finding evidence for the pres-
ence of these compounds. Mass spectra were taken between
masses m/z 40–450. Peak identifications were performed
using the NIST14 mass spectral database, published mass
spectra, retention characteristics (viz. comparison to reference
bufotenine and coprostanol standard, published retention in-
dices), and mass spectral deconvolution (using GCMS solu-
tion software Version 4.20, Shimadzu Corporation, Japan).
Results and discussion
The fact that the stoppers are removable suggests not only that
they had to be cleaned—no doubt such small orifices would
often become obstructed—but also that those who adminis-
tered the substances could have used stoppers with different
hole diameters and/or use a syringe without its stopper to vary
the dosage administered. The cane specimens without stop-
pers but with internal inclusions should also be included here
as yet another potential way of managing the dosage admin-
istered (see Tables 1 and 2).
Thus, while we believe that only one type of enema imple-
ment existed—the syringe enema—there would have been at
least two types of these: bone enemas with a dispensing stop-
per (see Fig. 1) and cane enemas without a dispensing stopper
(see Figs. 2b, d, o, q and 13a, b). Among the practices in-
volved in the use of these implements, regular maintenance
is suggested by the presence inside the cane cases of both
cactus thorns and unworked bird bones. Enema syringes dis-
covered as part of discrete sets inside pouches or containers, as
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
in the case of tomb 4137–4139 of Coyo Oriente, the pouch
without context or association from the Coyo Oriente or
Quitor 2 cemetery, and the case of Niño Korin mentioned
above, suggest that enemas were used along with other ele-
ments of the psychotropic complex. This possibility, as well as
further aspects of the specific ways in which enemas were
deployed, requires further study.
On the whole, however, our analysis of this significant
number of specimens allows us to suggest that specific, con-
trolled dosages were administered of psychotropic substances
as well as medicinal/prophylactic ones—as “purges” sensu
Larraín (1976). The latter aspect (purges) is another future line
of investigation that will focus on examining potential medic-
inal plants used for enemas without exclusion of psychoactive
ones such as vilca, mentioned as a purge by Larraín (see fol-
lowing quote).
Additionally, Larraín alludes to a passage written by
Cristóbal de Albornoz (in Duviols 1967: 22) that mentions
the words vilca and “vilcana” in the following context:
“They have another genus of guacas that they call vilcas,
and although the vilca is a type of poisonous fruit that
originates and grows in the hotter lands of the Andes,
similar to a coper coin from Castille, they heal and purge
themselves with it and are buried with it in all the prov-
inces of this realm, and one has to notice the figures,
wooden and stone camelid shapes with a hole inside like
an inkwell (which is where they grind this vilca) and
find them and destroy them. They are called tintеrо
vilcana and the people worship and revere it. The
vilcana is made of many different beautiful types of
stone and wood” (emphasis added; Larraín 1976: 31).
For Larraín, this passage describes a tray and its corre-
sponding snuff tube. In our estimation, however, these
“tinteros” in the shape of volumetric camelid figures are
not what Larraín proposes—snuff trays—but could be the
predecessors of the objects currently known as “conopas”
or “illas,” containers that held offerings intended to pro-
mote animal fertility; indeed, the archaeological record in-
cludes some Inka ritual vessels made of stone or wood in
the shape of camelid with a cavity on the back deep
enough for grinding a substance inside (Cortella and
Pochettino 2001). It should also be noted that the function
of the snuff tray was only to hold powder to be inhaled
through the nose, as its shallow rectangular cavity is not
suitable for grinding. It must further be clarified that rep-
resentations of camelids (“carneros”) are extremely rare
among snuff trays recorded for the South-Central Andes.
Also on the topic of the ritual uses of enemas, both Larraín
(1976) and Berenguer and Acevedo (2015) refer to a passage
from Guaman Poma that mentions how the Inkas used purga-
tives in pre-Conquest times:
“They had the custom of purging themselves each
month with the purgative that they call bilca tauri, they
combine three pairs of large seeds with macay [seeds]
and crush it and drink it and then they take half of it from
below with a melecina and syringe that they call
uilcachina. This made them stronger for fighting, im-
proved their health, gave them a life span of two hun-
dred years, and gave them a great appetite, and there
were many other indian purges” (emphasis added;
Guaman Poma 1980[1615]: 57).
In relation to that passage, Larraín interprets the term
“vilcachina” as a snuff tube. We disagree with this interpreta-
tion, however, and instead agree with Berenguer and
Acevedo, who affirm that what the chronicler describes is in
fact an enema syringe (Berenguer and Acevedo 2015: 68).
Another quote on the topic from the same source relates to
the customs of the “Yngas [Inkas] and other lords and princes
and particular indians, old people” who:
“purged themselves each month with three pairs of bilca
tauri [seeds] and an equal amount of maca and they
drank half by mouth and half was taken as melecina;
in this way they improved their health and life” (empha-
sis added; Guaman Poma 1980[1615]: 86).
In our opinion, such references to the act of “taking it from
below” and the use of a “syringe” remove all doubt regarding
the operation being performed and the instrument used to
perform it. De Smet also expresses his doubts about the
Larraín’s interpretation that that the expression “taking [the
substance] from below” refers to snuffing (De Smet 1985:
26). It is also worth noting that the Quechua dictionary com-
piled by González-Holguín includes the following entries: (1)
“Villca. A tree whose fruit, like chochos, is a purgative”; (2)
“Villca. Melezina made from this tree”; (3) “Villcani. To ad-
minister melezina” (González-Holguín 1608). We must clarify
here that the word “melecina” has two meanings in the
Diccionario de la Lengua Española, namely “medicine” and
“enema, a liquid introduced through the anus” (Real
Academia Española[RAE] 2014a, b).
As a result of our team’s investigation, it is clear that this
type of artifact, made usually of bone and to a lesser extent of
cane, occurs quite frequently in the funerary contexts of cem-
eteries excavated in different oases or ayllus of the Atacama
Salt Flat and its environs. Because of that, we have been able
to verify that the specimens referred to herein, from different
archaeological collections in Chile and abroad, were indeed
enema syringes yet were not recorded as such in most cases.
At the same time, our chemical analysis has confirmed that
specimen code 18.245 from tomb 1546 of the Yaye 2 ceme-
tery (see Fig. 9a, b) bears evidence of rectal use and the ad-
ministration of a psychoactive substance. The preservation of

the organic constituents of archaeological fecal remains has
been demonstrated by GC-MS analyses (Evershed and Bethell
1996), which have confirmed the survival of steroidal compo-
nents of human coprolites, including sterol, stanol, and bile
acids in relative abundance very similar to that found in fresh
human feces (Fig. 14a–c). While these findings are important
for demonstrating the survival of fecal lipids in coprolites,
they also offer the potential for investigating the presence of
this kind of lipid contents in archaeological enemas based on
the detection of coprostanol (5α-colestan-3β-ol), a compound
widely used as a chemical biomarker of fecal contamination
(Bethell et al. 1994; Prost et al. 2017). Thus, the identification
of coprostanol at the distal end of enema syringe code 18.245
constitutes direct proof of fecal deposition and thus of the
intrarectal use of these kinds of artifacts.
De Smet (1981, 1985) has extensively reviewed the evi-
dence of shamanic enema injections in South America regard-
ing the use of enemas among groups inhabiting the Amazon
basin, who used the paricá both nasally (in powder) and rec-
tally (diluting the powder in water or a plant decoction) (De
Smet 1985: 23). Equally informative is the work of Schultes
(1972) on the topic of the rectal administration of
Fig. 14 GC-MS analysis of enema residues. A: Scan chromatogram of
the distal part of the enema; B: chromatographic peak identified as
coprostanol; C: mass spectrum of the chromatographic peak identified
in the sample as coprostanol; D: scan chromatogram of the bulb part of
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
Anadenanthera in northern South America. Among the plant
sources used for this practice, infusions of seeds and leaves of
the genus Anadenanthera have a notably high frequency. The
same researcher performed a bioassay with 125 mg of DMT in
15 ml of water for an intrarectal dose of approximately
2.0 mg/kg and reported that it had “no discernable effect.”
Nevertheless, Ott has experimented with rectal self-
administration via suppository of 30 mg (equal to 0.43 mg/kg)
of bufotenine and 0.25 g of sodium bicarbonate in 1.0 g of
cocoa butter, noting that he developed slight physical and psy-
chotropic effects that lasted approximately an hour (Ott 2001a,
b). Continuing our efforts to identify the chemical constituents
of the enemas administered, in specimen code 18.245, we were
able to confirm the presence of the alkaloid bufotenine (5-OH-
DMT) (Fig. 14d–f), which would necessarily have come from
the species of the genus Anadenanthera, the only genus in-
volved in the hallucinogenic complex of the zone that has
enough quantity of this psychoactive compound. This result
constitutes the first archaeological evidence of the rectal admin-
istration of psychotropic substances. The chemical analyses of
the other analyzed specimens did not show the presence of
these alkaloids and stanols, observing the presence of
the enema; E: chromatographic peak identified as bufotenine; F: mass
spectrum of the chromatographic peak identified in the sample as
bufotenine
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
ubiquitous compound of plant and animal species (e.g., fatty
acid methyl ester, long chain hydrocarbon and alcohols) with-
out diagnostic character to be attributed to a specific taxon.
The information available from prior ethnographic and ar-
chaeological studies allows us to presume that the botanical
source of the psychotropic preparation present in the
abovementioned enema was the species A. colubrina var. cebil
(Lema et al. 2015; Martín Silva et al. 2016; Pochettino et al.
1999). That assumption is further supported by our own dis-
covery of cebil seeds inside the textile pouches from a set of
grave goods with no known context from either the Coyo
Oriente cemetery or that of Quitor 2. A sample of cebil seed
was dated at 1270 ± 30 BP (Beta-485431, seeds; d13 = −
21.6‰). This was calibrated in AD cal 663–859 at 95.4% with
the SHCal13 curve at 2σ (Hogg et al. 2013) using OxCal 4.3.2
(Bronk Ramsey 2009) and is consistent with dates ascribed to
the Middle period. Additionally, the presence of A. colubrina
var. cebil has been well documented for the neighboring cem-
etery of Solcor 3, which was contemporary with the cemeter-
ies in our study (Llagostera et al. 1988; Torres et al. 1991).
The sample we collected includes enema syringes with all
of the features that Berenguer and Acevedo (2015) identified
separately (tube + bulb + wrapping + removable stopper +
inner cane) but were only identified as elements of the same
enema paraphernalia thanks to the discovery of Niño Korin in
Bolivia. This context enabled the reconstruction of complete
enemas, such as in the case of specimens from tomb 4137–
4139 from Coyo Oriente; code 19.457 from Catarpe 2; code
18.251 from Sequitor Alambrado; and codes 177940,
4395/62, and 4439/62 from Chiuchiu, all comparable to spec-
imens 79.19.27, 70.19.7, and 70.19.15c from Niño Korin
(Wassén 1972: Fig. 19c, e, f).
Conclusions
We have managed to establish a pattern for the manufacture of this
type of instrument that lasted for at least five centuries, on the basis
of which we argue that syringe enemas were in use in the South
Andean area—both cannulas with a bone dispenser-stopper and
cane enema tubes without stoppers. Furthermore, a standard for-
mat for these compound artifacts has been identified, including the
choice of bird bone for the cannula, a uniform size and morpho-
technological details. Added to this is our preliminary effort to
describe the diverse raw materials used for the majority of the
enema syringes studied, i.e., bone or cane for the cannula, bone
orgourd for the removable dispenser-stopper, leather, animal blad-
der or intestine for the bulb, plant fiber, leather, rawhide, or camelid
fiber for the wrapping on each end, and “cane” for the inner tube.
For their part, the beads attached to the ends of the bulbs were, in
all three cases identified, made of copper ore.
The results obtained allow for the first time to verify the use
and specific function of these tubes as enema syringes and,
therefore, incorporate them into the hallucinogenic parapher-
nalia of the Atacama salt flat and the Circumpuna area in a
category similar to that of snuff trays and tubes, since they also
fulfill the function of administration of psychoactive sub-
stances. Additionally, our examination of these specimens
has enabled us to pinpoint specific formal and technological
differences between the enema syringes and the tubes used for
nasal inhalation (snuff tubes), which will help to prevent mis-
taken identification of these two types of implement in future;
on this point, the association of enemas with cane cases, which
has not been observed for snuff tubes, bears mention.
We believe that the chemical analysis of the residues ex-
tracted from the Yaye 2 specimen decisively confirms that
these implements belong to the set of artifacts comprising
the pre-Hispanic psychoactive paraphernalia. In regard to the
frequency of their use, it is possible that we are seeing merely
the tip of the iceberg and that in fact enema syringes were
much more wisely used.
In regard to the practice of ritual enemas, we believe that
our investigation also helps to clarify the different uses of
enemas; the dichotomy proposed early on by Larraín (1976),
who questioned whether vilca had been used as a purgative or
stimulant, has been answered by the evidence provided by the
sample analyzed, which indicates that in the majority of the
archaeological enema syringes, other plant substances were
also used that have yet to be identified, and only in the case
of enema code 18.245 did we detect the presence of “vilca/
cebil.” A similar situation is observed in the account provided
by Guaman Poma (1980[1615]), who describes a triple prac-
tice in Inka times (snuffing-drinking-enema), in which ground
cebil could be (a) snuffed as a powder, (b) drunk in solution
along with other plants, and (c) administered rectally in dilut-
ed form in ritual/medicinal contexts. Based on ethnohistoric
references, Larraín proposes the “triple use” of vilca in Inka
times, as a “general prophylactic,” as a “stimulant,” and for its
“psycho-religious” effect. His opinion that these uses were
inseparable within a “medical-religious context” deserves spe-
cial attention, as he understood this as a dual practice, curative
and psychoactive at the same time (Larraín 1976: 41).
In this regard, our investigation has gathered information
on the ritual use of enemas at least 1000 years prior to the
references mentioned by chroniclers, and it will be left to
future investigations to establish which other plants were in-
volved in this practice, about which we have provided crucial
archaeological testimony herein.
Acknowledgments We wish to thank the following individuals for facil-
itating our access to different archaeological collections in South
America, Europe, and the USA: Arturo Torres de la Vega, Director of
the Universidad Católica del Norte’s Museo Arqueológico R.P. Gustavo
Le Paige S. J., Chile; Curator Adriana Muñoz and Photographer Ina
Ashaug del Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Cultures),
Gothenburg, Sweden; Laura Miotti, Head of the Archaeological
Division, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Museum of the Universidad

Nacional de La Plata, Argentina; Pablo Andrade and Rolando Báez,
Director and Curator, respectively, of the Museo Histórico Nacional de
Santiago; Héctor González, Director of the Museo Arqueológico San
Miguel de Azapa, Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile; and María Martínez
and Emily Kaplan of the National Museum of the American Indian,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Funding information This research was carried out due to CONICYT
financing, through the FONDECYT Project 1160849. Javier Echeverría
is grateful for support from Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y
Tecnológico (FONDECYT) postdoctoral grant FONDECYT N°
3130327 and project CONICYT PAI/ACADEMIA project N° 79160109.
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