Stoned ape theory

Not to be confused with Stone Tape Theory.
Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms in Coyopolan, Veracruz, Mexico. McKenna and his proponents place these psilocybin mushrooms as the central force in the theory.

The stoned ape theory is a controversial hypothesis first proposed by American ethnobotanist and mystic Terence McKenna in his 1992 book Food of the Gods.[1][2] The idea claims that the transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens and the cognitive revolution was caused by the addition of psilocybin mushrooms, specifically the mushroom Psilocybe cubensis, into the human diet[3] around 100,000 years ago. Using evidence largely based on studies from Roland L. Fischer et al. from the 1960s and 1970s, he attributed much of the mental strides made by humans during the cognitive revolution to the effects of psilocybin intake found by Fischer.

McKenna's argument has largely been ignored by the scientific community,[4] who cite numerous alleged discrepancies within his theory and claim that his conclusions were arrived at via a fundamental misunderstanding of Fischer's studies. McKenna's theory was not based on scientific evidence.[5]

  1. ^ McKenna, Terence (1999). Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge : a Radical History of Plants, Drugs and Human Evolution. Rider. ISBN 978-0-7126-7038-8.
  2. ^ "Psilocybin, the Mushroom, and Terence McKenna". www.vice.com. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  3. ^ Letcher, Andy (2008-02-19). Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-082829-5.
  4. ^ Nutt, David; Castle, David (2023-03-07). Psychedelics as Psychiatric Medications. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-267852-2.
  5. ^ Helvenston, Patricia A. (May 2015). "Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, upper palaeolithic rock art and the neuropsychological model". Rock Art Research. 32 (1): 101.