ape with a symbiotic relationship to a mushroom

[orbsycli]

I recall hearing somewhere about a theory that our evolutionary step from the animal kingdom into the human kingdom was triggered by halucinagens.

does anybody have any knowledge on this theory, and is it even valid?

"yes...we are an ape with a symbiotic relationship to a mushroom" - unknown voice i remember hearding somewhere on tv or something.

what do you guys think of that quote?

this to me all seems like some far-fetched attempt by pro-drug scientists.
in my opinion, i'm sure drugs definitely impacted the way we evolved, but i don't believe it was the soul cause of our evolution.

well, well....i must continue my journey.

[Buffy]

That would have been supressed by Harry Angslinger among others. Its pretty well documented though that beer goes back to prehistoric times and wine is pretty close.

Cheers!
Buffy

[Nix]

a little birdie (metaphor, not hallucination) tells me that a book published by Terrance Mckenna called 'food of the gods' has this theory in it. would explain why people on mushies giggle like chimps...

[UncleAl]

Uncle Al's favorite theory of dinosaur extinction is that they overgrazed to extinction a powerfully laxative fern and all died of constipation. This is evidenced by recovery of giant coprolites. The soft sciences work exactly the same way, but in reverse.

Quick test of your proposal: Voluntarily administer hallucinogens (mescaline, DMT; harmine for advanced studies) to folks blind from birth and ask them to describe the output. You will then know whether hallucinogens reshuffle pre-existing sensory storage or create it from scratch.

Finally, water extract of macerated Syrian rue seed (Peganum harmala) mordanted to wool with aluminium hydroxide is brilliant Syrian Red/Turkish Red in "Persian" carpets. The color-developing chemicals are powerfully hallucinogenic harmine alkaloids. Snuggle your desert sweating body upon a bright red Persian carpet and pretty soon you fly. We have thus discovered why God so vigorously infests the Middle East, and why He disappeared after synthetic dyes appeared.

[orbsycli]

amazing. i now understand where the "flying carpet" comes from! !

[Turtle]

___That is pretty amazing bit of knowledge there allright on the dye. Have you ever seen the movie "The Rose", wherin monks are dying from poison ink used in the most secret books? They were licking there fingers before turning each page.
___How about the musical instrument Ben Franklin invented, the harmonium? It was made of glass spheres of different diameters revolving on a horizontal spindel & played by wetting the fingers & dragging them on the spheres to make notes. Beautiful haunting sound & even Motzart (?) composed for it. Unfortunately they were using leaded glass & all the most talented Harmoniasts died within a few years of lead poisoning. The instrument lost favor as the public came to believe it was the work of the Devil!
___The ape & mushroom idea is OK as far as it goes, but I hardly see how it ever is provable. Wine & beer require considerable more technology than eating a plant, eg vessels for fermenting. On the other hand, considerable care & expertise is in the hands of shaman who administer hallucinogens. Nothing like understanding everything & at the last moment also that you've killed yourself. (What? No mushroom emoticon?)GETE

[Kukucan]

Originally Posted by UncleAl

Finally, water extract of macerated Syrian rue seed (Peganum harmala) mordanted to wool with aluminium hydroxide is brilliant Syrian Red/Turkish Red in "Persian" carpets. The color-developing chemicals are powerfully hallucinogenic harmine alkaloids. Snuggle your desert sweating body upon a bright red Persian carpet and pretty soon you fly. We have thus discovered why God so vigorously infests the Middle East, and why He disappeared after synthetic dyes appeared.

Fascinating! It reminds me of a program I saw on PBS about ergot poisoning (LSD) causing the Salem Witch Trials.

There are monkeys (spider monkeys?) in the Amazon, who actually eat the fermented fruit of a particular tree and get drunk. Our ancestors, who foraged for plants, and probably mushooms, would likely have encountered at least fermented fruit. When a group of humans entered new territory, the plants were different and there is only one way to know if these plants (or mushrooms) get you drunk, make you sick, and/or take you on a psychedelic journey or kill you.

Also, there is a island in the Caribean which has an exotic species of monkey who even steal alcoholic drinks from the tourists, on the beach.

[Ddevil666]

So it goes that we have come/evolved into being the only creatures self aware that we would someday die because of these hallucinogens(?). Primeapes supposedly ate these mushrooms and hallucinated so much that their minds evolved into homosapians. Lets say if a squirrel were to become self aware they wouldnt spend their time running around all day, they would want more before their time came. I dont think this theory is correct but it does sound pretty cool.

[Dark Mind]

Originally Posted by Ddevil666

So it goes that we have come/evolved into being the only creatures self aware that we would someday die because of these hallucinogens(?). Primeapes supposedly ate these mushrooms and hallucinated so much that their minds evolved into homosapians. Lets say if a squirrel were to become self aware they wouldnt spend their time running around all day, they would want more before their time came. I dont think this theory is correct but it does sound pretty cool.

...But incorrect .

[AK-69]

I have heard this text in a song: "Mudvayne - Monolith"

"These symptoms suggested that our evolution,
I suppose from the animal kingdom into human kingdom
Itself was catalysed or
triggered by our encounter with these
Hallucinogenics, and

Yes, we are an ape with a symbiotic relationship
To a mushroom
And that has given us self reflection
Language
Religion
And all the spectrum of effects that flow from these things

And one can only wonder how
These hallucinogens might effect our future evolution as well

They have brought us to this point
And as we make our relationship to them concious
We may be able to take control of our furute evolutionary path"

Does anyone recognise this to come from an actual interview or something? I would love to know the source! It sounds very far-fetched, but I would love to know if there are actual arguments to back up this point of view.