Cultures That Have Used Shrooms

The ancient Mezo-Americans used shrooms obviously. What other civilizations have used shrooms? I heard or read somewhere that shrooms were also used in ancient India by Hindu brahmins, wandering sadhus, and holy men. But I have since then only seen psilocybin mushrooms being used by Native American shamans and not in the Eastern Hemisphere (Old World). If so what psychedelics did people of ancient India use? And what cultures besides Mezo-America used shrooms?

 

Some of the earliest known cave drawings depict shrooms. Terrance McKenna would have us believe that our ancestors used them, which caused us to evolve into Homo Sapiens due to years of brain re-wiring. He hypothesizes that language (the ability to form pictures in the heads of others through sound) is derived from synesthesia. Interesting read, if you have time: Food of the Gods.

 

When it finally became fashionable to think about fairies and the like in Victorian England rather than to look at such beliefs as simpliton rural folklore, some "educated" folk went out to the hinterland and ask the locals about such matters. Several old and wisened locals pointed out certain mushrooms that were the bringers of the fairy folk...seems the knowledge and use had been there all along and the Victorians took not, wrote it down...then did absolutely nothing with the knowledge. the rest as they say is history.

 

some vikings were thought to have eaten mushies before engaging in battle...heard about that on some movie we watched in history. I kinda skeptical about it being true since it seems like such a terrifying thing to do, but thats just me.

 

woop poop!

 

i think the myth was about amanita's since they give you energy at some point in the high, but alas, it is merely a myth....

 

It is very difficult to know for sure but species of psilocybin containing mushrooms naturally grow on every continent except Antarctica, so the potential is there, that at least some people knew about them and used them.

 

I think I saw that as well
the one time that my girlfriend came over, we turned on the tv, but started making out and didn't cahnge it, and then my mum and sister came home, and it turned out we were watching a marathon about Vikings and shit =P
we didn't change it for quite awhile either, interesting shit