Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino

Cultures > Arid North > San Pedro

Beliefs and funeral rites

The use of hallucinogenic substances was a central part of the San Pedro culture. Initially, psychoactive substances were smoked in angular ceramic pipes, but this practice was gradually replaced by snuffing, which was practiced using ornately engraved wooden tubes and tablets. Snuffing paraphernalia was kept in a bag or wrapped in a piece of cloth.