Introduction - Uppsala Monitoring Centre

Algeria, dated 7000-5000 BC, there are images of dancers with fists full
of mushrooms and have mushrooms sprouting from their bodies
(McKenna, 1992; Lewin, 1991; Samorini, 2001). These two examples
show the early use of psychoactive mushrooms, probably a mushroom
from the Psilocybe genus, which contains high dosages of psilocybin,
which induces vivid psychedelic experiences.
5000 BC Dried peyote buttons (from the Mexican cactus, L ophophora
williamsii, which contains mescaline), subsequently found in Shumla
Cave, Texas, provide evidence of peyote use.
A number of Linearbandkeramik 8 sites in the Rhineland and Swiss
Neolithic lake villages dated to 5000-4500 BC have yielded samples
of opium poppy seeds (Papaver somniferum) (Merlin, 1984).
4200 BC Alcohol was used, as shown by illustrations of the process of
fermentation on pottery from Mesopotamia made around 4200 BC.
Archaeological samples of henbane have been found at the
Bronze Age site of Feudvar in Serbia (Sherratt, 1995) and at a
Neolithic ritual site at Balfarg in Fife, Scotland (Barclay and Russel-
White, 1993).
Siddha medicine, which flourished in Southern India and dates
back to almost 5000 BC, is a form of medical treatment using
substances of all possible origins in a way that balances the possible
harmful effect of each substance. This form of medicine was
professed and practised by Siddha who wrote their recipes on palm
leaves for the use of future generations. Siddha medicine was
developed by outstanding Dravidians (ancient Tamils), locally called
Cittars. Preparations are made mainly out of the parts of the plants
and trees such as leaves, bark, stem, root, but also include mineral
and some animal substances. This form of medicine is still well
known today in South India, and is a form of Ayurveda.(Science of
life) The use of metals like gold, silver and iron powders in some
preparations is a special feature of Siddha medicine, which claims it
can detoxify metals to enable them to be used for stubborn diseases.
This claim is especially relevant in the case of mercury which is
relatively often used in the system; this means that medicine
containing purified mercury should only be received from a highly
qualified practitioner of the art. Fruits such as the lemon and leaves
of certain plants were frequently prescribed because of their
medicinal properties, such as Margosa leaves for smallpox.
8 Linearbandkeramik = first true farming communities in Central Europe. c 5400-4900 BC