In his book food of the gods, mckenna proposed that the transformation from humans early ancestors homo erectus to. Mckennas stoned ape theory is just one of many which attempt to explain it. The stoned ape theory offers such an explanation for how such changes came about. The stoned ape theory presented by mckenna proposes that the evolutionary leap between homo erectus and homo sapiens was a result of a surprising addition to the human diet psilocybe cubensis magic mushrooms. Did the ancient consumption of psychedelic mushrooms actually rewire the brains of our hominid ancestors so they learned to talk and think.
The stoned ape theory is one of the craziest, yet most fascinating theories i have been exposed to recently. Through the use of psilocybin, the stoned ape theory provides a very convincing explanation for how this behavior started developing in humans and has become so widespread that the fabric of our entire civilization is founded upon and hinges upon this social contract. Get a limited edition color vinyl, digital download, personal autographed note from the band, an unreleased track from the recording sessions, and a collection of bsides and outtakes from the band. In 1992, ethnobotanist and psychedelics advocate terence mckenna argued in the book food of the gods that what enabled homo erectus to. Every so often i come across an idea thats so remarkable, so playful, so wildly improbable that it could almost be true and i have to take a deep dive down the rabbit hole.
In food of the gods, ethnobotanist terence mckennas research on mans ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. Paul stamets is a mycologist, author and advocate of bioremediation and medicinal fungi. Terence mckenna is said to be way ahead of his time and declared a super genius by many of his colleagues. Lockley, the author of a book called how humanity came into being, has one major issue with mckennas reasoning.
Terence mckennas stoned ape theory of human evolution. Sure, it sounds a little whacked out on the surface, but given the historical prevalence and importance of psilocybin, or dmtbased concoctions like ayahuasca among ancient shamanic cultures, the stoned ape theory doesnt seem so easily dismissable. The search for the original tree of knowledge a radical history of plants, drugs and human evolution. The stoned ape hypothesis explained by paul stamets. This idea, known as the stoned ape theory, relates to how our ancestors evolved to.
Mar 30, 2016 all about the stoned ape theory of evolution of human consciousness. He spoke about many subjects like metaphysics, plant based shamanism, philosophy, language, alchemy, culture. It sounds outlandish at first how could eating mushrooms possibly make such a huge difference that homo erectus doubled its brain. The stoned ape theory of human evolution zamnesia blog. So its safe to say they dont think highly at all of the theory. Terence mckennas stoned ape theory animated dangerous.
Stoned ape theory the debut album by charles davis. The stoned ape theory states that we as humans became intelligent lifeforms because of the introduction of psilocybin mushrooms in our diet centuries ago. The stoned ape hypothesis, a contemporary reappraisal. The real impact did come at higher doses, according to mckennas theory, because it was at the higher doses that man was inspired to use sound to put images into anothers head. Mushroom expert exhumes the stoned ape theory big think. Terence mckenna 19462000 was a highly influential ethnobotanist who was a big advocate of healing power of plants and a responsible use of the psychedelic plants. In theory, these events took place around 100,000 bce. According to mckennas theory, which is outlined in his book food of the gods, as the north african jungles receded towards the end of the most recent ice age, it gave way to large swathes of open grassland. Hailed as a modern classic on mindaltering drugs and hallucinogens washington post it contained the radical stoned ape theory. In the video below, renowned mycologist paul stamets explains the stoned ape hypothesis to joe rogan. Animation by will carsola of daybyday for the comedy central pilot thunderbrain. Believing in the stoned ape hypothesis, which posits that our ancestors got high and consequently became conscious, also means agreeing that there was a singular cause for the emergence of consciousness. The search for the original tree of knowledge a radical history of plants, drugs, and human evolution at. The stoned ape theory presented by mckenna proposes that the evolutionary leap between homo erectus and homo.
Evolution applies to populations large and small, whether human, primate, or. The stoned ape theory presented by mckenna proposes that the evolutionary leap between homo erectus and homo sapiens was a result of a. In a nutshell, the stoned ape theory says that magic mushrooms sped up the evolutionary process and that, ultimately, the psychedelic experience is responsible for the. Mckennas theory was called the stoned ape hypothesis. Darwin and wallace proposed a broad theory that has borne out for the process of evolution by natural selection. A critique of terence mckennas stoned ape theory in his book food of the gods 1992, terence mckenna describes one of his many controversial ideas. Chris moody shutterstock big think regarding this theory, stamets presented psilocybin mushrooms and the mycology of. The stoned ape hypothesis might explain extraordinary. Mckennas stoned ape hypothesis offers one explanation for how humans doubled their brain capacity and became. One of our early ancestors, homo erectus, began eating psilocybe cubensis a psychedelic mushroom as part of their diet. Unfortunately, that theory, and likely many of the others mckenna presents, is nothing more i did not care for this book. During the 1990s, terence mckenna proposed a unique explanation for the leap of intelligence between the homo erectus and homo sapiens in his 1992 book food of the gods, mckenna proposed that the change from mans early ancestors primarily had to do with the increase of psilocybe cubensis in the human diet. The stoned ape theory offers an unconventional view of.
His examples included psilocybin mushrooms improving visual acuity so hunters could hunt more. Mckenna called this the stoned ape hypothesis and posited that psilocybin caused the primitive brains informationprocessing capabilities to rapidly reorganize, which in turn kickstarted. See more ideas about theory of evolution, terence mckenna and stone. In fact, there are many interesting theories throughout the book, the most famous of these being the stoned ape theory. This change happened because homo erectus started incorporating psilocybe cubensis a psychedelic mushroom into their diet. The mushrooms gave us the ability to form organized societies, think deeper about existence, increase our survival capabilities and engage in creative activities such as singing, dancing and. Language development saw immense growth during this period, and the stoned ape theory insinuates experiences on mushrooms helped further this development along. In 1992 he published a book called food of the gods. In his book food of the gods 1992, terence mckenna describes one of his many controversial ideas. Digital download of the album limited edition color vinyl record of.
In this animation he describes the incredible properties of fungi as well as an overview of how mushrooms. In stoned ape theory, consciousness has roots in psilocybin. In his book food of the gods, mckenna proposed that the transformation from humans early ancestors homo erectus to the species homo sapiens mainly had to do with the addition of the mushroom psilocybe cubensis in its diet according to his theory, this took place around 100,000 bce, which is when he believed that the species diverged from the homo. The stoned ape theory might explain our extraordinary. Growing theory says magic mushrooms are responsible for. We play 4 dimensional sound patterns to live and fly around the universe. The hypothesis is being revisited as a possible answer to a vexxing evolutionary riddle. Aloha, we are a band consisting of the last three remaining sasquatch. Stoned ape theory of human evolution in his book food of the gods, mckenna proposed that the transformation from humans early ancestors homo erectus to the species homo sapiens mainly had to do with the addition of the mushroom psilocybe cubensis in its diet, 26 73 74 an event that according to his theory took place in about 100,000 bce which is when he believed that the species diverged from the genus homo.
What do anthropologists think of the the stoned ape theory. First theorized in terence mckennas 1992 book, food of the gods, what separates us, homo sapiens, from our predecessors, homo erectus. See more ideas about terence mckenna, psychedelic and psychadelic art. First theorized in terence mckennas 1992 book, food of the gods, what separates us, homo sapiens, from our predecessors, homo erectus, other than our minor physical differences, is our higher consciousness. The theory makes a lot of sense and explains things quite well. This idea, known as the stoned ape theory, relates to how our ancestors evolved to produce language and create art. The stoned ape theory and the dawn of human consciousness. And additionally my own extensive experience with psychedelics for going on 30 years seems to confirm it. A quick basic summary of terence mckennas stoned ape theory from his book food of the gods 1992.
The hypothesis was developed by terence mckenna and documented in his 1993 book food of the gods. Stoned ape theory might be more than just stoner logic. The stone tape theory is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, recorded onto rocks and other items and replayed under certain conditions. Lets talk about the stoned ape theory to the best of. What is the stoned ape theory and what does it consist of.
Terence mckenna luminary learners project by psychdelicacy. Terence mckennas stoned ape theory of human evolution terence mckenna was the first proponent of this theory, which theorizes that as the north african jungles receded toward the end of the most recent ice age, giving way to grasslands, a branch of our treedwelling primate ancestors left the branches and took up a life out in the open. It is an animation of terrance mckennas stoned ape theory which is the theory that protohominids munched on mushrooms and this caused the mysterious rapid expansion of the neocortex that eventually differentiated us from the other monkeys. His examples included psilocybin mushrooms improving visual acuity so hunters could hunt more successfully and eat better brainbuilding foods, and magic mushrooms increasing sexual arousal so they would pass on the. The idea draws inspiration and shares similarities with views of 19thcentury intellectualists and psychic. For those not familiar with or now hoping to become more familiar with terence mckenna, he presented the stoned ape theory in his 1992 book, food of the gods, proposing that eating magic mushrooms pushed homo erectus to homo sapien by expanding his brain as well as his mind. The only theory ive ever heard that answers that in a way that is at all compelling to me is stoned ape. Mckenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the east and the west, from ancient spice, sugar, and rum trades to marijuana. As our distant ancestors left the forests for the grasslands and began moving throughout africa after the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago, the species switched to a more omnivorous diet. If you are unfamiliar with terence mckenna, check out my article on timewave zero novelty theory i understand that as soon as you decide to discuss psychedelics, people tend. Does the stoned ape theory explain human evolution. The stoned ape theory of human evolution trippingly. Vintage book cover of the psychedelic experience by timothy leary, ralph. He had a hobby of fossil hunting in his youth, which helped him gain a scientific appreciation of nature.
Believing in the stoned ape hypothesis, which posits that our ancestors got high. In 1992, ethnobotanist and psychedelics advocate terence mckenna argued in the book food of the gods that what enabled homo erectus to evolve into homo sapiens was its encounter with magic mushrooms and psilocybin, the psychedelic compound within them, on that evolutionary journey. Terence mckennas stoned ape theory is more plausible than it sounds especially in context of the emergence of human mind and language development. The stoned ape theory of evolution global bizarre medium. This is what is now known as the stoned ape theory of human evolution the theory. The stoned ape theory was founded by none other than the american author, lecturer, ethnobotanist and psychonaut terence kemp mckenna.
Psychedelic mushrooms and the evolution to homo sapiens. Til of the stoned ape theory, which is a controversial theory from terence mckenna which states that a lot of our advanced human evolution came as a result of the ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms by our primate ancestors. Terence mckenna was born on november 16, 1946, and died on april 3, 2000. Mckennas stoned ape theory revolved around his hypothesis of the effects produced by psilocybe cubensis. Everything you need to know about stoned ape theory. His 1992 book, food of the gods, argues that the accidental ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms triggered sentience in foraging, omnivorous apes and led them us to put rockets on the moon in the evolutionary wink of an eye aka the stoned ape theory.
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