ABSTRACT
The botanical origin of the genus Nicotiana has been traced to South America. 1 Ancient tobacco remains, smoking pipe and snuffing implements dating to various time periods have been recovered, 2 although the reconstruction of the human use of tobacco on that continent is preliminary. 3 Researchers have, however, been able to elucidate the South American tobacco complex as it existed in the interval between first European contact in the early sixteenth century and modern times. This complex included the ritualized consumption of nicotian substances, not only by smoking, but also by snuffing, drinking and even rectal injection. 4
