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Scientists discover that neanderthals were getting high on psychedelics millions of years ago
Harry Fletcher
Aug 18, 2023
Neanderthals liked to unwind after a hard day’s work hunter gathering by consuming psychoactive drugs, a new study has found.
A discovery of human hair strands at a burial site in Menorca, Spain has given us evidence of drug use in prehistoric times.
Research was put forward in a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, and they shine new light on drug use throughout history.
The findings uncovered a number of different alkaloid substances which came from nightshade plants.
They contain scopolamine and atropine which can cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences, while ephedrine is a stimulant.
More:
https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/scientists-neanderthals-getting-high
8 replies
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https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/
Ancient cave painters may have been stoned, study says
According to a new paper in "Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture" by Tel Aviv University archaeologists, the humans who ventured into these subterranean enclosures during the Upper Paleolithic (50,000 to 12,000 years ago) would have needed to light torches in order to see what they were doing. In the process, they would have reduced the amount of oxygen in the caves, inducing hypoxia (oxygen-deprivation) in their brains. That, in turn, would have put them in a state of altered consciousness, experiencing euphoria, out-of-body experiences and perhaps even hallucinations.
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/07/ancient-cave-painters-may-have-been-stoned-study-says/
Ancient cave painters may have been stoned, study says
According to a new paper in "Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture" by Tel Aviv University archaeologists, the humans who ventured into these subterranean enclosures during the Upper Paleolithic (50,000 to 12,000 years ago) would have needed to light torches in order to see what they were doing. In the process, they would have reduced the amount of oxygen in the caves, inducing hypoxia (oxygen-deprivation) in their brains. That, in turn, would have put them in a state of altered consciousness, experiencing euphoria, out-of-body experiences and perhaps even hallucinations.
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/07/ancient-cave-painters-may-have-been-stoned-study-says/
I wouldn't be at all surprised it did find traces of psychedelic substances that old, residues in shells. We humans have loved to send our brains on vacation for a long time and if they don't see this among other apes, maybe they haven't looked hard enough. We know other primates enjoy leaving fruit on the trees until it ferments into alcoholic fruit and they party down on it, along with birds and some other mammals. Getting high is probably as old as our brains are.
Oetzi, "the Iceman," was found with cannabis, obviously used either medicinally or recreationally 5500 years ago in Europe.
Maybe as the anthropological data sink in and the research adds up, we'll be able to beat the pickle faced Puritans back for a while. They will never unbend, we just have to stop voting for them "for the children."
"The cave also contained boxes patterned with psychedelic decorations, which could well have been decorated while neanderthals were under the influence."
Boxes? I assume 'drawn', rather than 'cardboard'.
And what, exactly, are 'psychedelic decorations'? Do they glow under a blacklight?
I'll check to see other articles on this. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Personally, I'm an old partier at John Prince Park, Lake Worth Beach in the golden years 1969-71. Neanderthals got NOTHIN on.ME!