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Re: The Curse of The Mummies

Message text written by INTERNET:Barry_Garcia@monterey.edu
>
Do you suppose that maybe the egyptians cultivated a plant that was
related to coca, but went out of cultivation ( and possibly into
extinction) when that culture vanished? I know there are many plants
that are similar on both continents ( like the species Raphia [a palm]
which occurs in both africa and south america ( or am i wrong?)<

Barry - you are absolutely correct; there are many genera that have members
in South America and Africa (or Australia, New-Zealand etc.); before the
continents wandered around to their present positions they were joined by
the Antarctic land-bridge. The continents are still moving, as residents of
California are frequently reminded.

The ancient Egyptians cultivated Linaceae, specifically Linum sp (flax
(source of linoleic acid - GLA)), which as a family is said to have close
affinities with the Erythroxylaceae (coca leaves are a very nutritious food
source containing many more calories, protien, minerals, fiber, calcium,
phosphorous, vitamin A, and riboflavin (vitamin B2) than the average south
American vegetable. Yes Coca-Cola does contain flavourings derived from
coca leaves, but the cocaine is extracted for medicinal use).

Apart from Erythroxylum coca and E. novogranatense - Erythroxylum species
have not been found to contain more than traces of cocaine (max 0.0005 %) -
most containing none.

The climate in Egypt is unlikely to have been suitable for growing coca,
but anywhere where coffee is grown would have the correct conditions - it
seems unlikely that such an important ethnobotanical plant would disappear
without trace.

100 individual positive tests is pretty overwhelming, but I remain
suspicious and without further corroborative data am becoming a bit bored .
. .

Best wishes,
Matt Sleigh
http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com
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