Though psilocybin has recently become one of the trendiest drugs on the planet for the pharmaceutical industry to capitalize on, the history of magic mushrooms in human hands runs deep. How far back, you wonder? Perhaps the better question is: How long have we existed?
Considering the versatility of fungi to grow in some of the most inhabited areas, it’s a possibility that primates may have foraged for psilocybin. In their instinct to feed themselves, their discovery of these fungi may have also unknowingly enhanced their cognitive abilities.
Growing freely in a range of climates, psilocybin has been used for over 10,000 years and possibly longer. Some evidence suggests shrooms have had us in their wavy consciousness-enhancing orbit since 10,000 B.C.E.
Psilocybin in Prehistory
Fungi have ancient origins. The earliest known species dates back to over a billion years ago with the discovery of Ourasphaira giraldae, a fossil species uncovered by Palaeobiologist Corentin Loron.
Some ethnobotanists — most famously, Terence Mckenna — theorize that shrooms may have even expedited human evolution. This interesting, albeit controversial theory is aptly named the Stoned Ape Theory. In a nutshell, the theory claims that what enabled Homo erectus (our ancestors from approximately 1.8 million years ago) to evolve into Homo sapiens (you and me now) was the heightened consciousness achieved from encounters with mushrooms containing psychedelic compounds.
However, whether or not our ape ancestors actually tripped their way to our current form, we know for sure that indigenous people from Central America to Siberia used psychedelic mushrooms to bond with their fellow humans and higher powers.
Equal parts mystical, tragic, and hopeful, the history of magic mushrooms through the centuries mirrors human development at large. There are religious rituals, magic potions, mischievous mushroom spirits, and more –- but let’s start at the very beginning.
Teonanácatl: Psilocybin in Central America
When most think of psilocybin’s place in ancient societies, they think of Central America. There is a breadth of fascinating indigenous artwork that salutes Psilocybe mushrooms (pictured above) as a channel to communicate with the gods; their nomenclature further solidifies the scope of their significance.
In the Nahuatl language, which was spoken by Mayan and Aztec people, psilocybin was called Teonanácatl, which translates to “flesh of the gods.”
Aztec Mayan and Toltec religious myths tell of these particular mushrooms, postulating that they were given to their ancestors by the serpent god Quetzalcoatl who was honored as the creator of all life. These ancient societies continued to keep records of Psilocybe mushrooms and their spiritual powers in both art and myth. However, in the 1500s, Spanish missionaries attempted to destroy all evidence of their use.
Nevertheless, a 16th-century…
Read more:A Brief History of Magic Mushrooms Across Ancient Civilizations | Psychedelic