[Research on hallucinogenic drugs used in Shaman religious activities].
X Y Fang, P F Fei, J P Zhu, B Yuan
Zhonghua yi shi za zhi July 28, 2017 DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0255-7053.2017.04.008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Hallucinogenic drugs Origin of drugs Shaman |
| Key findings | Argues that hallucinogenic drugs used in shamanic religious activities, drawn mainly from plants and fungi, fall into single and mixed categories, and that their geographic origins closely match shamanic locations. Suggests this pattern can provide clues about the early human discovery and application of natural drugs, offering a new approach to studying the origin of drugs. |
Abstract
The development of medicine experienced a long history, and the origin of medicine is not appeared overnight. Due to the lack of historical data, the question of the origin of medicine has not been agreed upon. As an ancient primitive religion, Shamanism retains the use of hallucinogenic drugs in its early religious activities rather well, providing a guidance for exploring the cognition on drugs in early human. Through the review of the hallucinogenic plants used by shaman religious activities in different countries and areas, it was found that hallucinogenic drugs can be classified into two categories: single and mixed, which came mainly from plants and fungi, and the origin of hallucinogenic drugs has a high fitting degree with Shaman location. The study result suggests that, based on the worldwide research literature on the application of such hallucinogens with local characteristics in the shamanistic religious activities, it is very likely that important clues can be found to understand the facts of discovery and application of natural drugs, thus providing a new approach for the studies on the origin of drugs.