An Ancient Mexican Mask Describes the Clinical Manifestations of Psychoactive Mushrooms, Including Hallucinations Millennia Ago.
SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología March 1, 2022 Ramin Afshari
A pre-Columbian ceramic mask from the Olmec civilization (1500-400 BCE) depicts a hybrid creature that is half jaguar and half human, with features suggesting enhanced sensory abilities. The jaguar half has a blind eye and a small ear without a hole, while the human half has an anatomically intact eye and a horn-shaped ear with a large hole, symbolizing greater hearing. The human side also has a skull and nose resembling a mushroom cap and stem. These visual and auditory enhancements, interpreted as hallucinations, indicate that the Olmecs documented the effects of psychoactive mushrooms containing psilocybin long before medical texts described them.