History+and+Culture

= History and Culture =

__Timeline__

(eNotes, 2011)
 * 9,000 BCE** A religious cult living in what is now the Sahara Desert creates carvings of gods shaped like mushrooms.
 * 2000-1400 BCE** Priests in India compile the //Vedas,// a series of writings that mention the use of bright red psychedelic mushrooms in religious ceremonies. The authors call the drug //Soma.//
 * 100 CE** Aztec artists carve statues in which gods are depicted with mushrooms.
 * 1502** A //Psilocybe// mushroom called //teonanacatl// is used by Native American priests during the coronation of the Aztec king Montezuma.
 * 1958** R. Gordon Wasson writes a story about psychedelic mushroom use for //Life// magazine. The story is titled "Magic Mushrooms."
 * 1958** Albert Hofmann makes the psilocybin compound in a laboratory, leading to the drug's use in treating mental disorders.
 * 1968** Psilocybin and its related compound, psilocin, are made illegal in the United States.

Throughout history, as shown by the timeline, human beings have experimented with altering their mental states. In both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.The ancient //Vedas// (texts of India), believed to be //Amanita muscaria,// that could be used to connect with the gods. The Greeks made a hallucinogen from a mold called //ergot//. In the Americas, the indigenous, or native, peoples created religious rituals around mushrooms, toad venom, and other plants that could bring on a variety of psychedelic, or mind-altering, experiences.

Psilocybin use in the Americas can be traced back to the Aztecs, although they were probably not the first to use it. Archaeologists found a statue dating to the year 100 that shows a shaman, or medicine man, seated under a mushroom. Most indigenous cultures approached magic mushroom use with great care. They chose only certain candidates for the experience and guided those individuals through the process. Mushrooms were used only on the most sacred holidays and only by the shamans and their students. Native cultures believed that psilocybin helped them talk to the gods, tell the future, and communicate with the spirits of the dead.

When the Spanish, French, and British missionaries came to the New World in the 1500s, they had hoped to convert the Native Americans into Christians. They had viewed the use of psilocybin as being contrary to Christian practices, and they had severely punished Native Americans for using the drug. Even though they were punished for their actions, mushroom use survived underground as the indigenous peoples conducted their rituals in secret.

The are only some people who can legally use magic mushrooms, such as certain Native American groups who consider the fungi central to their religious beliefs. They continue to use the mushrooms as their ancestors did in various rituals and take steps to provide a safe environment for that use. (eNotes, 2011)