Help finding a book

[fostex]

Hi, i read somewhere about a book that examines a possible link between early man ingesting psilocybe mushrooms and her subsequent development of higher cognitive abilities. Sadly i cannot remember neither title nor author. If anyone knows what i'm talking about and could help me out, it'd be greatly appreciated.

 

[tryptonaut]

Maybe Gordon Wasson, Persephones Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion?

From the amazon review:
"[...]It is a scholarly attempt to make the case that mind-altering mushrooms may have been responsible for mankind's most primitive religious feelings, leading to the very beginnings of religion as we know it today.[...]"

 

[fostex]

Hi, thanks! That wasn't it, but i found the one i was looking for mentioned in one of the reviews. Terence McKenna - Food of the Gods, it was.

In the beginning, McKenna tells us, there were protohumans with small brains and plenty of genetic competition, and what eventually separated the men from the apes was an enthusiasm for the hallucinogenic mushrooms that grew on the feces of local cattle. Claiming that psilocybin in the hominid diet would have enhanced eyesight, sexual enjoyment, and language ability and would have thereby placed the mushroom-eaters in the front lines of genetic evolution[...]

Sounds intriguing, no?

 

[lucasdr]

It sure does. Many warriors have been showed superior in battle after ingesting mushrooms. For example the vikings.

 

[cody]

It sure does. Many warriors have been showed superior in battle after ingesting mushrooms. For example the vikings.

yes, but i don't think it were psilocybin containing mushrooms but rather fly agaric they used...

 

[lucasdr]

My bad. I thought we were talking 'bout magic mushrooms