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The use of psychoactive drug use in ancient Andes has been discovered in the hair of mummies, according to a new study. The predecessors of Inca, the Tiwanaku made use of mind-altering drugs. Drugs were made available through wide trade networks.

The details of the findings have been highlighted in the Journal of Archaeological Science, October issue.

Recently, scientists observed 32 mummified Tiwanaku bodies, which were discovered in Northern Chile’s Azapa Valley, located in the Atacama Desert.

The researchers found harmine compound in the hairs of a male adult and a year old baby, dating somewhere between A.D.800 and 1200. Harmine helps humans to absorb hallucinogens and is probably a strong antidepressant.

Harmine was probably used for medicinal and therapeutic practices, some related to childbirth and pregnancy according to study co-author, Juan Pablo Ogalde, chemical archaeologist, University of Tarapaca, Arica, Chile. It is also possible harmine may have been used in religious rituals.

Snuff kits have been found containing Vilca tree  powder. X-rays of  Tiwanaku skulls show  nasal damage, which could have been perhaps caused by frequent sniffing. Also snuffing imagery has been portrayed in Tiwanaku ceramics, stone work, wood work and textiles, which indicate snuffing rituals were part of the Tiwanaku culture.

Alexei Vranich, archaeologist, University of California, Los Angeles, who did not take part in the study said that many were attracted to the Tiwanaku religion because of the usage of these mind-Altering substances.

An engraved animal model found buried next to a prehistoric toddler at Stonehenge may stand for Britain’s first known toy, researchers opine.

The only one of its kind chalk relic is of a pig or hedgehog , considered to be around 2,000 years old; it was unearthed last September close to the famous stone monument of England’s Salisbury.

This Bronze Age carved animal model was made as a plaything or in remembrance of a stillborn baby or an infant who died very young, the archaeologist believes.

The finding was made during a project of the Stonehenge Riverside, a 7-year archaeological exploration of this Stonehenge area. The project is also backed by the National Geographic Society.

The burial was exposed during the excavation of an antique palisade.

Proofs of toys during the period of British history are exceedingly limited.

The infant’s grave, uncertainly dated between 800 B.C - 20 B.C., also  includes a ceramic vessel, which might have contained foodstuff intended meant for the child’s crossing to his afterlife according to the team.

The dig of the post also exposed the corpse of another infant along with the carcass of a goat or sheep.

A mound of pebbles placed over the head of the animal, point to a sacrificial burial.

It is possible that the 2 infants are human sacrifices, than likely to have died naturally. However, there was also a high incidence of child mortality at that time so natural death can not be ruled out completely.

At present, archeologists are fighting over what the animal is — a pig or a hedgehog.

The latest study discovered that a chemical’s emissions are 4 times more widespread in our atmosphere than formerly thought, and a lot more times more efficient at heating up than Carbon Di Oxide (CO2).

What is this unknown gas?

The answer to the question is Nitrogen trifluoride.

Nitrogen trifluoride is 1of the numerous gases used during the making up of some computers and TV screens; it is also used in the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic cells.

So, once again we have the same old dilemma for us. The production of the very object meant to resolve the crisis, is in reality adding up to this crisis.

Many manufacturers have been using Nitrogen triflouride as a substitute for perfluorocarbons, which is another sort of strong greenhouse gas.  Then it was considered that merely 2 % of nitrogen trifluoride being used actually escapes into atmosphere.

Nitrogen trifluoride is almost 17,000 times more potent at heating up the atmosphere than CO2, carbon dioxide.  Though, this gas emission at present adds up to only 0.15 % of total effects of global warming produced by humans. It is predicted that the quantity of the gas in our atmosphere is rising by 11 % per year.

Carbon Dioxide, CO2, still remains the chief gas causal of global warming.

By means of new technology, research teams in California sponsered by Nasa, revealed that thousands additional metric tons of this chemical exists in our atmosphere than what was formerly thought.

As this gas is used very frequently, its potential harmful effects are not well known, researchers now recommend to include nitrogen trifluoride in the greenhouse gases controlled by Kyoto Protocol.