These are distinctions based on known chemistry, though the direct application to ancient use patterns remains inferential.

What the Kentucky State Archaeology survey has also noted, and what researchers working from the evidence have consistently maintained, is that some of the mining may have been associated with ritual purposes specific to young men.

The interpretation is that at least some underground expeditions may have been part of coming-of-age ceremonies — experiences deliberately designed to be challenging, disorienting, and transformative.

Going miles into absolute darkness with only a bundle of fire for light, then returning to the surface, would have been a profound physical and psychological experience.