c. 4000–3700 BCEPeer-reviewedWell documented
Peyote and the Sacred Cactus
On the timeline · around c. 4000–3700 BCE ·
What happened
Peyote buttons found in the Shumla Caves of Texas, radiocarbon-dated to roughly 4000 BCE, still contained mescaline — proof that Indigenous peoples of the Americas were using the psychedelic cactus in ritual nearly 6,000 years ago.
Why it matters
It is among the oldest hard evidence for any psychoactive plant used to alter consciousness — a ritual tradition that survives in Native American religion today.