Archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence suggests that pre-Hispanic indigenous cultures in Colombia's Calima Valley may have used mushrooms for ritual and medicinal purposes. The region was continuously occupied from around 7700 BC, with distinct cultural phases—Ilama, Yotoco, and Sonso—identified by pottery traditions dating to 1500 BC. While modern research shows therapeutic potential of psilocybin-producing fungi and medicinal species like Ganoderma lucidum and Hericium erinaceus, this paper integrates archaeological chronology with comparative ethnohistorical and ethnomycological perspectives to propose that mushroom use was part of ritual and medicinal practices among these societies, including the Muisca, Tayrona, and others.
The Tayrona, an indigenous tribe that lived in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in pre-Hispanic Colombia, likely used mushrooms in sacred rituals for spiritual purposes, implying a sophisticated mycological knowledge that included nutritional, medicinal, and psychoactive uses. The paper suggests that psilocybin-producing mushrooms were employed by the Tayrona, and that present-day indigenous inhabitants of the region continue such practices. Recent medical research proposes psilocybin as a treatment for anorexia, depression, anxiety, and addictions. The document connects these modern applications to Tayrona culture, suggesting they understood brain functions and mushroom effects.