Reports by explorers and travelers and the first scientific studies on ayahuasca (dating from 1850 to 1950) within the current debate on the “psychedelic renaissance”

Between 1850 and 1950, encounters between indigenous and Western uses of ayahuasca set the stage for the current "psychedelic renaissance." Scientific interest in psychoactive substances revived around 2000 after being halted by anti-drug policies in the 1960s and 1970s. Early twentieth-century studies and expedition reports from Amazonia, analyzed through actor-network theory, reveal how historical accounts illuminate present-day political debates over indigenous practices, classifications, and meanings of ayahuasca, as well as pharmaceutical interest and the broader debate on "drugs."

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This article describes the associations and controversies between indigenous and western uses of ayahuasca between 1850 and 1950 in relation to the “psychedelic renaissance.” This movement has gained scientific attention since 2000, but hearkens back to the 1960s and 1970s, when anti-drug policy halted research on the “therapeutic potential” of psychoactive substances. Pioneering studies on ayahuasca date back to the early twentieth century and mention reports of expeditions to Amazonia from 1850 onward. Here, these articles and reports are analyzed according to the historical aspect of actor-network theory and recent studies. We infer that history casts light on the current political debate about indigenous uses, classifications, and meanings, pharmaceutical interest in ayahuasca, and the debate on “drugs.”