Terminology And Material Culture Of Opiates In The 18th-20th Century Western World: An Overview.

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Opiate usage took many forms in the 18th-20th century Western world, becoming so common by the 19th century that it is considered a historic epidemic comparable to the modern Opioid crisis. Western medicine created Alcohol/Opium tinctures (Laudanum and Paregoric), and isolated/synthesized alkaloids like Morphine, Narcophine, Codeine, and Heroin. These were valued for their pain-killing abilities, and though their addictive properties were of concern, they were widely prescribed by doctors, dispensed by druggists, and incorporated into Patent Medicine recipes. By the mid-19th century, Opium consumption by smoking (and/or eating) had also been introduced to the West via Chinese immigrant populations. Social/recreational use including Opium den culture became a rallying point of anti-Chinese sentiment and denigration, leading to eventual anti-opium (and anti-immigrant) legislation in many Western areas. This paper will delineate and provide an overview of the cultural practices/terminology of Opiate consumption in the West and its associated material culture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow