CONCLUSION 
A few closing words may bring into relief several salient 
points of interest. 
1) There is no doubt — whether or not supporting archaeol- 
ogical or early literature evidence be available — that the 
indigenous use of all of the major psychoactive drugs of South 
America indicates great age. 
2) For coca, archaeological material puts its use back at 
least as far as 3000 BC — 5000 years ago. Actual authenticated 
botanical identification came about in 1749 — 229 years ago. 
3) The earliest literature reference to yopo-snuff is appar- 
ently 482 years old — made in 1496. The source plant was not 
botanically determined until 1801. 
4) For the hallucinogenic preparations made from Virola, 
the first literature reference seems to be one published in 1923. 
The actual source plants, however, were not identified specif- 
ically on the basis of botanical material until 1954. 
5) A description of the use and effects of ayahuasca ap- 
peared in the literature in 1858, although the same drug, under 
the name caapi, had been botanically collected, named and 
described, but not published, in 1851. 
6) The Chilean arbol de los brujos or latué was discovered 
and botanically identified in 1854, but the narcotic use of the 
species was indicated only in 1858. 
7) The earliest literature reference to jurema dates from the 
late 1700’s. Botanical identification began in 1873 and was 
substantiated only in 1946. 
These observations indicate how much basic botanical work 
has been accomplished during the past century. This century 
has been marked by ever increasing acculturation and even 
disappearance of native cultures in South America. There are 
sundry minor yet extremely interesting hallucinogens and nar- 
cotics — half a dozen of them reported only during the last 10 or 
15 years — of which we know next to nothing. It behooves 
ethnobotanists and enthnopharmacological investigators to 
study these psychoactive plants, their use and their signifi- 
cance in aboriginal societies before the race with acculturation 
or extinction of indigenous cultures is forever lost. 
Azo 
