2mo ago

The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’

www.theguardian.com

Humanities & Cultures @beehaw.org

alyaza [they/she] @beehaw.org

2w ago

The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’

www.theguardian.com /science/2025/may/01/the-ancient-psychedelics-myth-people-tell-tourists-the-stories-they-think-are-interesting-for-them

4 comments

Essentially the author is taking aim at the plausibility of humans using psychadelics throughout history and time on the veracity of the historic and fossil records.
Which is fine. Because most of the ideas are derived from interpretations of scant bits of evidence to begin with. The whole narrative is much closer to a group of friends theorizing what the first ape to consume psilocybin may have felt than scientists and historians enshrining a proven theory. But I think the author gets a little stuck by not really accepting most all of these theories are predicated as fanciful and speculative.
Stoner culture isn't the same as the medical marijuana resesrch. But the former is quite marketable in its own right. Same thing here.
Tl:DR: Locals dress up as tarot readers to guilible nirvana seekers and gives them a dirty brew.
I saw the video of western spiritualist smoking dried amazon toad slime and guess what the man started rolling in the mud vomiting foam. And then Miguel tells them with a feather fan that your weaknesses have left your body.
- that's not a good tl;dr. the article goes into the history of ancient psychedelics use, which seems to be way less than what people usually think or write about. it not only goes over false claims, but also looks at where ancient psychedelic use actually was happening and where there is evidence. they provide many concrete examples. the article is less about locals trying to please tourists.
- While the headline does reflect some of the article, the main focus is about whether or not this was a widespread ancient practice. The takeaway was that it was not. To me that's what made the article interesting.