Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 95: Sep-Oct 1994 Issue Contents

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Evidence Of Tobacco In Ancient Egypt

S. Balabanova et al, at the Institut fur Anthropologie und Humangenetik in Munich, have pulverized and dissolved samples of hair, soft tissue, and bone tissue from seven Egyptian mummies dated between 1070 BC and 395 AD. Chemical analyses detected cocaine, hashish, and nicotine in quantities similar to those found in modern addicts.

(Balabanova, S., et al; "First Identification of Drugs in Egyptian Mummies," Naturwissenschaften, 79:358, 1992. Cr. B. Rudersdorf)

Comment, Presumably, the nicotine was derived from tobacco. Tobacco is widely believed to be a New World plant. Is this belief incorrect? Could the nicotine have come from another source? Were there contacts with the New World before the Vikings and Columbus?

From Science Frontiers #95, SEP-OCT 1994. © 1994-2000 William R. Corliss

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Science Frontiers Sourcebook Project Reviewed in: Icarus: Volume 41, Issue 3, p. 470-470 1984, Vol.56:3, P.615 1983, Vol.58:3 June 1984, Vol.60:3 Dec 1984, Vol.72:3 Dec 1987 Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 81, no. 1 1987 American Journal of Physics, Volume 52, Issue 8, p. 764 August 1984 Quotes "Before opening the book, I set certain standards that a volume which treads into dangerous grounds grounds like this must meet. The author scrupulously met, or even exceeded those standards. Each phenomenon is exhaustively documented, with references to scientific journals [..] and extensive quotations" -- "Book Review: The moon and planets: a catalog of astronomical anomalies", The Sourcebook Project, 1985., Corliss, W. R., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada>, Vol. 81, no. 1 (1987), p. 24., 02/1987