Cave murals in Spain 'show man may have used magic mushrooms 6,000 years ago'
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 6:44 PM on 8th March 2011
For all those who thought hallucinogenic drugs took off in the 1960s, think again: scientists believe they have found evidence of magic mushroom use 6,000 years ago.
Cave murals found in Spain appear to depict them in religious rituals - which would be the oldest evidence of their use in Europe.
The Selva Pascuala cave mural near the town of Villar del Humo has a bull in the centre, but researchers from America and Mexico are focussing on a row of 13 small mushroom-like objects.
Intriguing: The Selva Pascuala mural has a bull in the centre, but researchers from America and Mexico are focussing on a row of 13 small mushroom-like objects
The mushroom has a bell-shaped cap with a dome and lacks a ring around the stalk, just like the objects in the 6,000 year-old mural, they say.
It also has stalks which vary from straight to sinuous - the same as those drawn thousands of years ago, they add in the latest issue of New Scientist.
But, even though it is several millennia old, it is not thought to be the oldest painting showing hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Messages from another world: The Chauvet-Pont-d¿Arc Cave signs and paintings cover 25,000 years of prehistory from 35,000 to 10,000 years ago
Just last month, it was revealed the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in southern France is to be the subject of a 3D documentary by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, as it is thought to be where man made his first attempts to write.
Since its (re)discovery in 1994, the cave in southern France has offered scientists a veritable treasure trove of perfectly preserved paintings.
Alongside these are evidence of attempts at communication 30,000 to 40,000 years ago.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1364259/Selva-Pascuala-cave-murals-man-used-magic-mushrooms-6-000-years-ago.html#ixzz1G32B8388
