J Ethnopharmacol. 1981 Jul; 4(1): 57-74.

Ceramic evidence for prehistoric Datura use in North America.

Litzinger WJ.

Striking similarities in the details of the medicinal and ceremonial use of the genus Datura are known over a wide area in aboriginal North America, especially in the region extending from the Southwestern United States to Southern Mexico and Guatemala. Over this same geographical area there have been found a number of ceramic forms bearing a marked resemblance to the distinctive spiny fruit characteristic of the North American species of this genus. These so-called "spiked" or "hobnailed" ceramic forms are thought to represent objects that were associated with Datura use in pre-historic times, and the occurrence of these forms in archaeology sites may be of cultural/historical importance.