Hallucinogens in the Stone Age
October 27, 2008 by Ryan Hurd
Filed under Consciousness & Health
I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to discuss the recent discovery of “prehistoric drug paraphernalia” found in a Caribbean island archaeological site dated to @ 400 BC. Bone tubes and ceramic bowls were found in a human occupation site, suggesting the use of a sniffed substance, most likely cohoba, a hallucinogen made from the beans of a mimosa species.
“Drug use in the Stoned age!” That’s been the rallying cry of the mainstream media, including this article here, which actually reproduced an image of a early hominid to depict islanders who lived during the same time as the Golden Age of Greece. It’s kind of laughable, but of course the implications for public science education are unsettling.
