Mushrooms and the roots of mankind 1 Amanita muscaria

1
Mushrooms and the roots of mankind(1)Amanita
muscaria
2
Amanita sppca. 600 spp.
Amanita muscaria
Amanita gemmata
Amanita cothurnata
Amanita pantherina
Amanita strobiliformis
3
Amanita muscaria fly agaric
4
The chain Amanitaflies -Toads
Samorini, G. 2000. Animals and Psychedelics. Park
Street Press.
5
Sahara desert rock-paintings, 9000-7000BC
6
Arians the Soma God6000 years ago
Aryans
7
Arians

• Indian Hindus
• Rig-Veda (ca. 2000 BC) Iranian Zoraster

gt120 holy hymns in Rig-Veda devoted to God
Soma? What was Soma?
8
Rig-Veda Soma
We have drunk Soma and become immortal we have
attained the light, the Gods discovered.
The holly man men piss flowing Soma. The lords,
with full bladders, piss Soma with quick
movements.
9
Koryac tribes in Siberia
They pour water on mushrooms and boil them. They
then drink the liquor, which intoxicates them
the poorer people () post themselves on these
occasions around the huts of the rich and watch
the opportunity of the guests coming out to
urinate, then hold a a wooden bowl to receive the
urine which they drink greedily, as having some
virtue of the mushroom in it, and by this way,
they also got drunk (Schultes et al. 2001)
10
Bering land bridge
11
Dogrib tribes -- Athabasca
12
Ojibwa Anishunaubeg
13
Kakulja-ikox (lightening mushroom) in
Mesoamerica?
Mexico Guatemala
14
Vikings used Amanita muscaria to produce their
berserker rages??
15
The Origin of Christianity?
The Fresco at Abbaye de Plaincourault Mérigny,
France "The Temptation of Eve" and the "Tree of
Knowledge??? Allegro, J. 1970. The Mushroom and
the Cross.
16
The symbol-mushroom origins of Christmas?
17
(No Transcript)
18
Ibotenic Acid Muscimol
Muscimol lacks the carboxyl group

• Both substances produce the same effects, but
  muscimol is approximately 5-10 times more potent
  than ibotenic acid.
• Ibotenic acid converted to muscimol on drying or
  in the body.
• Symptoms occur within 1 - 3 hours after ingestion
  of the mushrooms.

19
Muscimol

• Muscimol is a potent GABA antagonist.
• GABA - inhibitory neurotransmitter - inhibitor of
  presynaptic transmission in the CNS.
• Muscimol has been shown to be active in several
  parts of the brain including the cerebral cortex,
  hippocampus, and cerebellum.

20
Symptoms

• Visual distortions, mood changes, euphoria,
  relaxation delirium, inebriation, spasms.
• Deep sleep full of fantastic images and vivid
  hallucinations.
• High doses give swollen features, high rage and
  madness, characterized by bouts of mania,
  followed by periods of quiet hallucination.
• Very few deaths cases known (in N America from
  var. guessowii).
• Fatal dose 10 mushrooms (ca. 100 g fresh
  mushroom!).
• No antidotes! - stomach pumped

21
References

• Ardussi, J. A.Brewing. 1977. Drinking the Beer
  of Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism the Doha
  Tradition in Tibet, Journal of the American
  Oriental Society (97.2) 1977
• Danielou, A. 1991. The Myths and Gods of India,
  Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT.
• Dowson, J.A . 1968. Classical Dictionary of Hindu
  Mythology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd.,
  London.
• Flattery, D. S., Schwartz, M., Haoma and
  Harmaline. 1989. The Botanical Identification of
  the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hallucinogen 'Soma' and
  its Legacy in Religion, Language and Middle
  Eastern Folklore, University of California, Near
  Eastern Studies 21, Berkeley.
• Hajicek-Dobberstein, S. 1995. Soma siddhas and
  alchemical enlightenment psychedelic mushrooms
  in Buddhist tradition, Journal of
  Ethnopharmacology 48 99-118,
• Michelot, D. Melendez-Howell, L. M.
  2003.Amanita muscaria chemistry, biology,
  toxicology and ethnomycology. Mycol. Res.
  107-141.
• Ott, J. 1993. Pharmacotheon - Entheogenic Drugs,
  Their Plant Sources and Histories, Jonathan Ott
  Books, Natural Products Co., Kennewick, WA..
• von Bibra, Baron Ernst. 1995. Plant Intoxicants,
  Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT
• Samorini, G. 1992. The oldest Representations of
  Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in the World (Sahara
  Desert, 9000-7000 B.P.). Integration. 2/3 69-78.
  
• Wasson, R. G., Kramrisch, S., Ott, J., and Ruck,
  R. G. 1986. Persephone's Quest Entheogens and
  the Origins of Religion, Yale University Press,
  New Haven and London 1986.

22
(No Transcript)