Modeling the Flesh of God: Semantic Hyperpriming and the Teonancátl Cults of Mexico
NeuroQuantology May 24, 2016 Kaleb R. Smith 1 citation
The ritualistic use of the ancient psychoactive sacrament teonanacatl, or “The Flesh of God,” was integral to pre-colonial Mesoamerican culture and persists in syncretic forms today. This paper provides a brief history of Mexican tribes, especially the Mazatec people of Oaxaca, who use Psilocibe species in shamanic contexts. It applies contemporary cognitive research on psilocybin, specifically its induction of hyperpriming—an indirect semantic priming state with expansive branched hierarchical associative structures—to explain the psychological, linguistic, and perceptual effects reported in the traditional teonanacatl ceremony.