The theory is based on the idea that early human ancestors, residing in African savannas around 2 million years back, started consuming psilocybin mushrooms that grew on the dung of grazing animals. These mushrooms, which consist of the psychedelic substance psilocybin, would have had a profound effect on the brain, resulting in increased neural plasticity and the advancement of new cognitive capabilities.
As wild as it may sound, there are in fact some benefits to this idea. On the flipside, critics highlight the reality that the Stone Ape Theory is pure speculation.
How we got to be here is among mankinds most long-lasting concerns. And it can be found in numerous layers: first in understanding how deep space formed, then how life appeared in the world, and how we, people, particularly came to be. We have a respectable deal with on where and how people developed, but theres a side quest that has actually been alluding researchers considering that the very first glimmers of viewpoint: the origin of human awareness.
The theory, first proposed by Terence McKenna in the 1990s, suggests that the usage of psychedelics played a vital role in the development of early human forefathers. According to McKenna, the intake of psychedelics, especially psilocybin mushrooms, permitted our forefathers to establish advanced cognitive abilities, such as language and abstract thinking.
So, are we the grandchildren of junkie apes? Lets see what the theory is everything about.
This theory, understood as the “Stoned Ape Theory,” recommends that the secret to understanding the development of human consciousness may depend on the usage of psychedelics.
As always, we have some theories. And one of the more imaginative origin hypotheses includes drugs.
The Stoned Ape Theory, painting by Jim Figora.
Where the Stone Ape Theory came from
Psilocybe cubensis, a psychedelic mushroom that takes a central part in McKennas hypothesis. Image credits Carlos De Soto Molinari/ Flcikr.
Terence McKenna during a panel conversation at the 1999. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Ok so now lets get to the meat and potatoes of this topic.
McKenna was also a self-proclaimed mystic and an advocate of the use of naturally-occurring psychedelic plants. I do not personally believe in the useful applications of mysticism– I do not think a crystal therapist will quartz your cancer away. However I can comprehend how somebody whose task is to communicate with standard therapists such as shamans can acquire an affinity for it. After all, these functions kept themselves throughout the centuries by means of the extremely strong, extremely transformative experiences they can offer. As a method of self-discovery or maybe in assistance of mental health or subjective well-being, such experiences can hold value. Hes also the producer of the “novelty theory”, a principle about the nature of time based on fractal patterns McKenna declared to have discovered in the I Ching.
In the savannah, cow dung can serve as an essential source of food for pests, so they tend to be attracted to them. P. cubensis also loves manure– it tends to grow in it. This would be the link connecting Homo erectus to psilocybin; as they scavenged for insects, they saw these tasty-looking mushrooms, so they began eating those, too.
I start with a description of the man himself since its crucial to note that he did achieve academic success and acknowledgment in, maybe, the exact same step as he gained appeal for some pseudoscientific ideas. Now, a mans character isnt a reflection of his capability to be best or incorrect– even a damaged clock is ideal two times a day, and wrong the remainder of the time. But McKenna is fascinating, especially because of this juxtaposition in between the provable and unlikely in his work.
While known informally understood as the Stoned Ape Theory, this is not a theory– it is a hypothesis. In science-speak, theories are ideas that have been consistently proven real and which have verifiable evidence to back them up. All theories begin out as hypotheses.
The long version is that, during the desertification of Africa (an occasion we understand happened), our very ancient forefathers were forced to leave their standard house– the canopy roofing systems stretching across the continent. The increasingly dry climate suggested that forests were dwindling, both in density and geographical spread, and could no longer support these populations; so they needed to relocate search of food.
The theory has its roots in the book Food Of The Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge, published by Terrence McKenna in 1992. McKenna was an American ethnobotanist, a branch of science that studies how different cultures or groups of individuals generally employed plants in their environment for medical, cultural, or other purposes.
Initially, they lived as collectors and scavengers, learning their method through the brand-new, treeless environment they were thrust into– the savannah. Around the year 100,000 BCE, McKenna argues, Homo erectus came into contact with the mushroom Psilocybe cubensis and incorporated it into their diet plan. According to McKenna, bugs were likely a crucial source of protein for these hominids, as theyre much simpler to catch compared to other prey.
Mushroom dinner
The Stoned Ape Theory basically specifies that psychedelic mushrooms were the driver that helped our species emerge from ancient hominids. In brief, it states that psilocybin, the primary active compound in shrooms, altered the behavior of Homo erectus, which initially developed 2 million years ago, in ways that set them on an evolutionary path towards us, contemporary people.
Ape together, stoned
The TL; DR of everything is that, in McKennas theory, our forefathers consumed psychedelic mushrooms that made their brains enter into overdrive. This, in turn, caused the production of art, religious beliefs, speech, and all the other characteristics that set us apart from the animal world.
Sustained consumption of psilocybin, in McKennas theory, set our hominid forefathers on a path towards success. This, he argues, would make the individuals who did eat the mushrooms much better hunters, which would, in turn, provide them an evolutionary edge over those who didnt.
Some time in between 2 million and 700,000 years back, the brain size of Homo erectus successfully doubled. Thats a blink of an eye on an evolutionary timeline and McKenna has actually frequently argued that this leap in brain power could be credited to the mind-enhancing effects of psychedelic substances found in nature.
A little higher doses would also help, he contends, as they cause an increase in sex drive, greater levels of energy, and might potentially trigger erections in males, promoting the proliferation of more offspring for those who took in the mushrooms.
At yet greater dosages still, McKenna includes, psilocybin would promote a sense of neighborhood, and perhaps even group sex, by “dissolving boundaries” between group members. In an age well prior to paternity tests, he goes on to argue, this would cause a greater sense of community as everyone was looking after all the offspring as if they were their own. It would also promote genetic variety, for apparent reasons. These higher dosages would likewise promote the development of language and greater brain functions through the visions and other psychedelic results they produce. Religious beliefs may likewise have actually been jump-started by this substance, due to its impacts on our subjective understanding of the ego.
Did they, actually?
While known colloquially understood as the Stoned Ape Theory, this is not a theory– it is a hypothesis. The theory has its roots in the book Food Of The Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge, published by Terrence McKenna in 1992. Hes also the begetter of the “novelty theory”, a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns McKenna declared to have discovered in the I Ching.
There is absolutely an allure behind the Stoned Ape Theory; its a good story, and we like excellent stories. I believe its a good, fascinating story, at least. It likewise most likely makes for an asset of discussion for college freshmen and other individuals the world over as theyre explore their own psychedelics– which cant but assist. But is it real?
But perhaps both the most significant critique and appeal of the Stoned Ape Theory is its sexy simpleness. It suggests that some individuals or groups of early human beings supercharged their brains and established consciousness due to some random encounter with magic mushrooms. In reality, complex characteristics like the hallmarks of human intelligence– symbolic language, complex social media networks, and complex tool usage– do not appear overnight. That never ever occurs. Once due to some anomaly in a single individual, they also do not take place. These are the sort of traits that appear individually across various populations that are geographically separated and are ultimately picked to become incorporated into the basic population.
In other words, this example shows how McKenna tends to take little bits of data that arent really proven to be true and kinda just roll with them. Ill repeat that this does not suggest his hypothesis cant hold true, however these arguments dont go a long way to helping show that it holds true, either. And he keeps doing this, over and over, with his Stoned Ape Theory. Simply put, the entire hypothesis is unprovable.
Sustained intake of psilocybin, in McKennas theory, set our hominid forefathers on a course towards success. There is absolutely an allure behind the Stoned Ape Theory; its a great story, and we like excellent stories.
Great ape skeletons and a human skeleton (on the right) in the Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge. Image via Wikipedia.
I believe its possible that McKennas locations of interest, his scholastic work, and his individual experiences with psychedelics opened a more instinctive understanding of the topic– or at least, one that didnt always fit into the strenuous needs of the scientific technique. He might also have been wrong.
The main problem fixed this hypothesis is that McKenna develops a series of presumptions on extremely shaky feet. Then he utilizes these presumptions as a beginning point for other presumptions, similarly unsupported. The whole of McKennas hypothesis relies on our ancestors discovering and eating a certain mushroom, Psilocybe cubensis, in manure along the savannah. But P. cubensis is a types that favors damp and hot locations; savannahs are hot, but not damp. Still, we might probably replace it for its relative types. P. azurescens, P. cyanescens, and P. allenii, for instance, tend to favor the drier, Mediterranean climates.
Somebody who studies folk uses for plants and shamanism, even academically, need to be willing to accept information acquired beyond regular scholastic processes. The conclusions we draw from this info needs to and will be tested, naturally. However a specific desire to captivate weird ideas is required in these fields that really typically deal with customs, misconceptions, routines, and stories informed and retold over the centuries– not cold difficult figures.
Can I, or anybody else, state for sure that it is? No. Theres nothing we know of that would suggest it could not happen, although parts of it seem improbable to say the least. Theres also not enough here to explain reliably how it could happen, regardless of the truth that total, it has a specific appeal.
McKenna cites previous work to support his argument that psilocybin usage increases visual skill, but that paper didnt find that such a compound actually makes you see more plainly. The paper reports that psilocybin changes visual understanding, not that it makes it much better or clearer. In reality, the authors explain that even at such low doses, the changes caused by the compound “might not contribute to the survival of the organism”– which goes totally against McKennas conclusion that consuming shrooms made early hominids better hunters.
Theres also the obvious flaw that individualss dietary history is not inherited. Although direct exposure to stress and famine can introduce some epigenetic changes that seem inheritable, the significant shift required to cause awareness in primates would need to be etched into our DNA through anomalies that are passed down the germline. You cant pass on the experience of a previous psychedelic trip to your offspring.
I do not suggest to seem like I wish to rip into McKenna– I actually do not. Personally, I discover his hypothesis fascinating, and definitely worth a couple of chuckles if shown real. However thats just the thing: the entire train of thought does not actually have proof to back it up. Is it possible that the Stoned Ape Theory is? Definitely. Do I want it to be? Completely. Since our forefathers invested their days tripping their fur off, it would just be too delicious a paradox that we just developed advanced mathematics and other innovative geekery.
McKennas story itself likewise tends to color how individuals view this hypothesis. I personally see both him and the Stoned Ape Theory as really odd, in the sense that theyre unique, they stand apart from their peers.
It keeps going on like this. His idea that hallucinations triggered religion and speech, is again, not propped up by evidence, but a presumption. The idea that consuming the mushrooms made males horny, even if real, doesnt suggest that it made them more successful in breeding. God knows that if all it took was being randy, we d all be getting laid hard. Hallucinating, also, doesnt increase your probability of making love.
