Milanese Hospital Bones Suggest Early Use of Cocaine

Researchers in Italy excavating a crypt in Milan’s Ospedale Maggiore have discovered something which sets established history on its head: traces of cocaine in the brains of two bodies, which suggests the drug was used far earlier than previously thought.

Conventional historical wisdom tells us that cocaine use in Europe started in the 19th century. However these bodies date to the 1600s, as per the report published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

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This was not the modern naughty sherbet, to be sure. The toxicology analysis suggests the drug was consumed in the form of coca tea, a far less potent form which has been commonly consumed in the Andes for centuries, and right up to the present day: you need a little pep in your step to get up those mountains.

The Ospedale Maggiore was a famous Milanese hospital for the poor, and the crypt is thought to contain the remains of more than 10,000 people, according to Archaeology News. One of the users was also found to be suffering from late-stage syphilis and there was additional evidence they had tried opium, before dying aged 30-45.

Quite the libertine.

Header Image: Syphilis, Opium and Cocaine, oh my! (Journal of Archaeological Science / CC BY 4.0)

Written by Allthathistory