Florida
Florida professor finds evidence that ancient Egyptians drank hallucinogenic cocktails
A professor at the University of South Florida (USF) analyzed a 2,000-year-old Egyptian mug and discovered that the ancient object once held a psychedelic concoction used in a magical ritual.
The mug studied was an Egyptian Bes mug donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. The mug is one of few still in existence.
Research into the rare mug began in 2021, USF professor Davide Tanasi told Fox News Digital via email.
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These mugs displayed the head of Bes, according to the press release.
Many of Bes’ worshipers were ancient Egyptian newlyweds, according to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, as the god of fertility and childbirth.
Drinking vessels shaped into the likeness of Bes, an ancient Egyptian deity. (Tampa Museum of Art; Allard Pierson Museum/Amsterdam/Stephan van der Linden)
Tanasi and his team scraped a sample of tiny particles from inside the vase to analyze.
The team originally thought the vessel would have contained an alcoholic beverage, but what they ended up finding was far different from their original theories.
Advanced DNA and chemical analysis found the vase contained what Tanasi described as a “cocktail” of different components.
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Included in the mix was an alcoholic base, Tanasi told Fox News Digital, with flavoring agents like honey and or royal jelly sesame seeds, pine nuts or oil from Mediterranean pine and licorice.
Also included in the mix were several different medicinal and psychotropic substances, including Syrian rue, blue water lily and cleome species, Tanasi said.
The analyzed mug was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. (Fabiola Santiago/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/File)
Human fluids including blood, breast milk and mucus were also part of the concoction, according to Tanasi.
The bodily fluids in particular served as a large indicator that the mix was used in ancient ritual practices, according to the research.
“It was then a magical potion, meant to inebriate, satiate and induce hallucinations,” Tanasi said of the mixture.
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This first-of-its-kind finding provides physical evidence that mirrors written records and myths about ancient Egyptian rituals.
“At this point, we believe that the psychotropic substances found in it were used for ‘incubation rituals’ connected with the cult of Bes,” Tanasi told Fox News Digital.
A drinking vessel is shown in the shape of Bes’ head. (Tampa Museum of Art/Philip LaDeau)
“Incubation rituals are religious practices where people sleep in a sacred space to receive a dream from a deity that may provide healing or an oracle,” Tanasi said.
“In [the] Greek cult of Asklepios, god of medicine, sick worshipers had to spend the night in the sanctuary and wait to be visited by the god curing them during their dreams. Those dreams were triggered by drugs (pharmaka) dispensed by the priests. So, our research confirms an earlier practice that has later comparisons in several other cultures.”
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The mug is now on display at the Tampa Museum of Art as part of its “Prelude: An Introduction to the Permanent Collection” exhibit.
As far as further research goes, Tanasi said he hopes similar analysis continues.
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“To prove that the concoction that we found was the base recipe for a standard beverage administered during the rituals in honor of Bes, we plan as [a] next step to hopefully carry out the same analyses done on the example from the Tampa Museum of Art on other examples of [the] Bes Mug, kept at the Allan Pierson Museum in Amsterdam,” he said.
These, he added, “were produced with the same mold used for the Tampa one, to assess whether there was one and only recipe for this magical potion for Bes.”
Florida
‘The naughty list:’ Wrong tag leads to arrest of wanted Central Florida man
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A wanted Central Florida man was caught after deputies noticed that his car had a wrong tag, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
In a release on Wednesday, deputies said they initially spotted a car with a tag that didn’t belong on it.
“A little research showed (the driver) had an open warrant for occupied burglary,” the release reads. “He tried to accelerate and ram his way out of trouble, but that only led to more charges.”
Body-camera footage shows deputies confront and ultimately catch the driver, identified as 33-year-old Dillon Cottrell.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies also recovered a trafficking amount of fentanyl and other drugs.
Now, Cottrell faces charges of burglary, criminal mischief, fleeing law enforcement, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing law enforcement.
He is held without bond. His passenger, Kelli Jo Hands, was also arrested, deputies added.
“Both are still in jail and most likely spending Christmas there,” the release concludes.
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Florida
Grand Rapids police chief is candidate for Florida job: Eric Winstrom faced early trial
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Just weeks into his new job, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom – sharing a small apartment with his wife and two children – was told that an officer was just involved in a shooting.
A former commander for Chicago Police Department, Winstrom had dealt with many shootings involving police.
Officer Christopher Schurr shot and killed Black motorist Patrick Lyoya after a Feb. 4, 2022, traffic stop. Schurr, a white officer, shot Lyoya in the back of the head.
Winstrom, who was named this week one of three finalists for police chief in Pensacola, Florida, recalled the tragedy in Grand Rapids in an MLive video 13 months after the killing.
He became chief in Grand Rapids on March 7, 2022.
He described the shooting as “just like a slap across the face and a wake-up call because I had been involved in so many of these difficult situations in Chicago. So I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this here so quick’ and it was I would say a progression of sadness.”
He met with Lyoya’s family in his office, “crying literally with them.” He knew that Schurr, who was ultimately acquitted by a Kent County jury of second-degree murder, and his family were devastated, too.
Winstrom fired Schurr after charges were filed.
He knew that his officers had strong feelings, with many supporting Schurr, who said he acted in self-defense when Lyoya gained control of his Taser.
Winstrom, who often responds to serious crime scenes, said: “I’ll say that this department – I’m sure everybody’s got their opinions – but from what I’ve seen they’ve handled it professionally … have not let it impact job performance at all which was something that I was really afraid of.”
That has happened in other U.S. cities after controversial police shootings. Lyoya’s supporters held many protests, particularly when the officer was on trial.
Windstrom said that calls to defund police can lead to a ‘mass exodus’ of officers, which data shows results in increasing violence in minority neighborhoods.
He said that “officers in Grand Rapids, whether they agree with my decision to fire Christopher or not, come to work every day. They just do a phenomenal, professional job. I’m really proud of them.”
Winstrom is a finalist for the Pensacola job with Brian Dugan, a former Tampa police chief, and Erik Goss, the acting deputy chief in Pensacola, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
The selection process will occur Jan. 12 to 14.
Winstrom declined an MLive request for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 24, but issued a statement the previous day.
He asked for patience while he considered what is best for him and his family. He said he will be “engaged here as ever” during the process and “I remain fully committed to ensuring the City of Grand Rapids is a community where people feel safe and are safe at all times.“
City Manager Mark Washington appointed Winstrom nearly four years ago knowing “that he was a highly qualified, top-tier professional in the field of public safety. While he hadn’t served as a Chief of Police, his potential was evident.”
Washington added: “Given the significant progress he has led within the Grand Rapids Police Department – specifically in advancing constitutional policing, enhancing transparency, and centering the department’s commitment to serve all residents – it is certainly not surprising that other communities would seek out his leadership and expertise.”
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