Psilocybin mushrooms have been used throughout history in religious, spiritual & divine contexts.

It is thought that one of the earliest depictions of psilocybin use comes from a cave in Algeria, supposedly 9000 years old and depicting a "bee-faced mushroom shaman".

Some "younger" appearances (6000 years ago) have also been spotted in the Selva Pascuala art, supposedly depicting mushrooms that were growing a lot in that area.

The place with the probably biggest historical use of magic mushrooms was Mesoamerica overall. 

South American Aztec Indians referred to them as teonanacatl, meaning “god’s flesh” and they were used in religious and healing rituals.

Pictured below are the Guatemalan "mushroom stones".

In Mesoamerica, mushrooms were being used in pre-colombian times and until this day. 

Spanish missionaries in the 1500s attempted to destroy all records and evidence of the use of these mushrooms.

Nevertheless, a 16th century Spanish Franciscan friar and historian mentioned teonanacatl in his extensive writings, leading to a decades long search of this mystical teonanacatl.

This search ultimately led to a 1957 photo-essay in a popular magazine, describing for the Western world the use of these mushrooms.

(Here's a link for the 1957 article. The article is on page 103/192. Enjoy the old advertisements :))

Specimens were ultimately obtained, and their active principle identified and chemically synthesized. 

Thanks for reading!

Have a nice sunday

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