Humans Have Always Been Stoners???

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Ancient humans were stoners, archaeology proves it. Most people think of drug use as a modern vice, but archaeology has proven the exact opposite. Beer predates farming, weed was domesticated before wheat, and Göbekli Tepe was a brewery.

[00:00:13]Yeah, but the beer the beer and and like drugs they had back then were a lot weaker than modern terms. Like people did get, you know, high and hallucinate and [ __ ] in early, you know, caveman times. But like, you know, a guy smoking weed 10,000 years ago is not hitting that [ __ ] pineapple express Maui wowie [ __ ] train wrecks good kush that people are smoking today, you know?

[00:00:39]That that would put them on the rack.

[00:00:41]They'd hit one They'd hit that [ __ ] one time and green out, you know? Like they could not hang with a modern-day blunt rotation. But the evidence of drug use goes back much further than you'd ever expect. Drugs are everywhere in nature.

[00:00:54]Think of it. Weed, shrooms, peyote, they're all just sitting there waiting to be used. And dozens of wild animals have been documented enjoying their psychoactive effects.

[00:01:04]Birds get stoned on marijuana seeds, and elephants What? Birds? Like hunting birds will eat marijuana seeds? That's [ __ ] so funny. get drunk on any fermented fruit they can find.

[00:01:15]Oh my god, he's fat folded and his nuts are out. Jesus.

[00:01:19]This is a low light for this elephant.

[00:01:21]>> Like sex, hunger, and thirst, the pursuit of intoxication can never be repressed. It is biologically inevitable.

[00:01:28]But from an evolutionary perspective, this is difficult to explain. Birds drunk on fermented fruits fly headfirst into windows, while disoriented >> I feel like they do that [ __ ] either way, dude.

[00:01:38]>> monkeys ignore their young and wander off into the jaws of predators. Ooh.

[00:01:42]Intoxication is dangerous and often leads to death. If we are truly the product of natural selection, what could explain this?

[00:01:50]According to ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini, the risk is worth it because intoxication promotes lateral thinking.

[00:01:57]Lateral thinking is thinking outside the box, without which a species would be unable to come up with new solutions to old Well, isn't that part of the idea of how like there's a theory, the stoned ape theory, that, you know, our ancestors that we have in relation to modern-day great apes got really high on mushrooms and that sparked a downturn that led us to being modern humans today. Like they took mushrooms or some sort of hallucinogenic like peyote and, you know, tripped balls and went, "Oh my god, maybe I should cook my food." or something crazy. And then they were able to [ __ ] you know, slowly evolved.

[00:02:36]>> problems and eventually go extinct.

[00:02:39]Intoxication is therefore a useful evolutionary survival strategy. And the implications of this idea for human evolution are profound. And that brings us to a bold theory. What if what helped us ascend from primitive ape to tool-using human was getting high?

[00:02:54]This stoned I think the stoned ape theory has a valid, um, premise, but if I don't think it's the only thing. Like I don't think the reason that humans are evolved as a species is because we would get [ __ ] high all the time, you know? I think it might have played a small part in like certain advancements that humans made.

[00:03:15]And obviously, not obviously, but like potentially religion, you know, you could argue that a lot of things that people believe spiritually came from hallucinating.

[00:03:24]But I don't think that's like the only reason that we're where we are now. The theory proposes that psilocybin mushrooms drove evolution forward, making us more intelligent, socially complex, and successful. The truth is that psychedelic mushrooms were abundant across the environment our ancestors evolved in.

[00:03:41]These early humans, such as Australopithecines, mainly ate plants, and mushrooms were certainly on the menu.

[00:03:48]There is no doubt that ancient humans ate psilocybin mushrooms and the mind-expanding effects.

[00:03:54]Philosopher Terence McKenna, who came up with the stoned ape theory, proposed that shroom consumption by early humans gave them an advantage while hunting and foraging.

[00:04:03]Terence McKenna also made penis envy mushrooms, right?

[00:04:06]>> this on a study which found that psychedelic mushrooms could increase edge detection and visual acuity, helping our ancestors hunt and forage more effectively.

[00:04:15]The shrooms may have also increased sexual arousal, leading to a reproductive benefit.

[00:04:20]Higher doses would dissolve the ego, leading to a more selfless and efficient group. So, the mushrooms were there, our ancestors were eating them, and they genuinely altered the mind. So, did they make us human? McKenna was harshly criticized by academics, and not without reason.

[00:04:36]The study he based his whole hypothesis on actually concluded that psilocybin may not be conducive to the survival of an organism.

[00:04:43]The sexual arousal claim >> think it's conducive for the survival of the organism, but I think he has a valid point in that like it could provide some sort of benefit. I don't think it's the reason we're where we at where we are, like I said, but I could so see how like a weird middle of all like Australopithecus, um a weird middle evolved like half ape, half man looking hybrid that can't really speak, but understands life at a more complex level than an ape would, eats mushrooms and has like an aha moment. I don't know what that would be, but like maybe being like an inward better reasoning, like oh [ __ ] I'm alive. You know, having that like oh [ __ ] I'm I'm a real thinking thing in like some way. Like I could see that.

[00:05:31]>> had no scientific backing, either.

[00:05:34]But most importantly, the effects of shrooms are temporary and are not passed down to your offspring.

[00:05:40]But academics >> Yeah, but like neither is most of the [ __ ] that we have today. Like the majority of human experience and knowledge is passed through generations through teaching. That's why like the first third of your [ __ ] life, not first third, first third first fourth-ish of your life is just school, because you're not like a dog, you know?

[00:06:00]You don't just get given the skills that you need when you're born. Like, if you didn't go to school, you would be a [ __ ] idiot. Like, I know a lot of the [ __ ] they teach in school is stupid and useless, but like if you never went to school, you would be a dumbass. You would be stupid as [ __ ] Like, that's why you at least need to get through like elementary school to learn how to read and write and do basic math, because that's like something that you kind of just need on a day-to-day basis.

[00:06:28]>> to interject the stoned ape theory because ancient humans weren't eating mushrooms. They rejected it because McKenna over claimed what those mushrooms did.

[00:06:36]The mushrooms were ab School system hasn't changed. Yeah, you need some of that knowledge. No, I agree. That's what I'm saying. It's like I don't think a lot of the stuff that school teaches you is you know, specifically use for your life in general, but it gives you general knowledge that makes you averagely a smarter person. You're better at problem-solving. You're better at adapting to situations. You're better at learning. You're better at working, you know? Like, I do agree that I think modern school systems, especially in the United States, kind of bottleneck kids into the 9-to-5 life, but it also is need I think it needs a reformat, not a complete scrap and redo, you know?

[00:07:10]>> absolutely there. And our ancestors were probably eating them.

[00:07:13]They may have helped our ancestors with the lateral thinking that is needed to invent new tools and strategies.

[00:07:19]So, did shrooms make us human? Probably not on their own. But, they almost certainly had an effect on the evolution of lateral thinking.

[00:07:26]Psilocybin mushrooms are one of the most potent mind-expanding substances out there.

[00:07:31]During times of hardship, they may have helped our ancestors come up with new solutions to age-old problems.

[00:07:37]Unfortunately, finding direct evidence for this is impossible, but hard to deny nonetheless.

[00:07:42]I also love just thinking about a bunch of Homo erectus just sitting around tripping in places in Africa. Imagine being stoned in an And I wonder like, you know, there obviously ought to be a time where they ate the mushrooms and didn't know that it would make them hallucinate and then it did, but then there had to be a point where they started looking for them. Like, the earlier human ancestors made the connection that these specific mushrooms make me trip balls. Let's look for them.

[00:08:08]Like, they wanted to have them.

[00:08:11]>> environment with giant baboons, lions, Paranthropus, and all you have to defend yourself is a Those are so uncanny. This form, is this This is an Australopithecus. What is this? This form of human like is so creepy to me.

[00:08:26]It's like what uncanny valley is.

[00:08:28]Paranthropus, and all you have to defend yourself is a wooden spear. The more you learn about human evolution, I swear the more absurd it gets. And as it turns out, shrooms were just the beginning. As our species evolved, mushroom use became institutionalized.

[00:08:42]Shamanism is one of the oldest spiritual practices on Earth. It is built entirely around altered states of consciousness.

[00:08:48]The shaman often ingests a substance accompanied with dancing and drumming that allows him to enter the spirit world. Here, they obtain knowledge and wisdom to bring back to their group.

[00:08:58]It's the same exact lateral thinking we talked about earlier, except now it has a job title.

[00:09:04]Our earliest evidence comes from Europe around 40,000 years ago, where archaeologists have found bone flutes, hybrid figurines, and abstract cave art.

[00:09:13]Depictions of human-animal hybrids are highly indicative of shamanism because in traditional societies, shamans often wear the costumes of animals to gain their power.

[00:09:22]There is no doubt that shamanism was common throughout the world this early on. Uh one of the coolest things we talked about in my philosophy class was like the when you look at cave paintings throughout time, the coolest transition to see, I've said this before on stream, but the coolest transition to see is like when they went from painting other things they saw to themselves. Like the first hand paintings and then like individual stick figure drawings of like caveman families is the coolest because it's like them at like it's their it's showing that they know they exist, not just like a a biological feeling or strive to draw like to like, you know, move forward and eat and survive. It's not all biological. Like they had abstract thinking beyond just survival needs. They're like, "Holy [ __ ] I actually exist." And then they were able to like paint that versus earlier cave paintings where it's like maybe they had a level of consciousness that's obviously on a higher realm than most species, but like the inner understanding of self wasn't fully built yet because they were still drawing things they saw and they had some interest in art and painting, but it was like they never made themselves yet.

[00:10:35]>> almost certainly were consuming psychoactive substances.

[00:10:38]Shamans in Siberia conduct these traditions with mushrooms to this day.

[00:10:43]And their culture traces directly back to the Ice Age.

[00:10:46]But an incredible site in North Africa finally proved this connection.

[00:10:49]In the Tassili n'Ajjer Plateau in the Sahara Desert, there is a cave painting depicting something profound.

[00:10:56]A strange masked figure with mushrooms growing out of every surface. His hands See, that's so awesome, bro. Some dude tripping [ __ ] 30K years ago made that. Is that his dick?

[00:11:08]hands full of shrooms.

[00:11:09]The distinctive round caps almost certainly represent >> Is he peeing? I don't >> sense psilocybin mushrooms.

[00:11:16]But the figure isn't alone.

[00:11:18]Around him, figures dance in elaborate costumes, while others make love.

[00:11:23]Yo.

[00:11:26]How long ago was this?

[00:11:27]>> scene carries the unmistakable appearance of a ceremony with people in altered states of consciousness. Other cave art from the same time period in Spain depicts Oh my god, they're all just [ __ ] drawing mushrooms.

[00:11:37]>> mushrooms as well.

[00:11:39]Shamanism was the most common religious practice across the entire world during the Stone Age. And it seems institutionalized mushroom use was common as well.

[00:11:47]I have been studying human evolution for years and honestly I think I vastly underestimated the role of psychoactive substances in our development. Another substance has been used since the Ice Age that you have probably consumed.

[00:11:59]Wild cannabis was growing across Europe and Asia before our species even existed.

[00:12:03]Ancient humans have been living among this plant since the first Homo erectus left Africa some 2 million years ago.

[00:12:10]In its undomesticated form, it is fairly low in THC, the chemical that gets you high. Is this just like Is this actually just natural weed? Weed is everywhere in some places?

[00:12:20]So this is just natural weed. the chemical that gets you high.

[00:12:23]But it is very high in CBD, a chemical which helps with anxiety and pain relief.

[00:12:29]The seeds are also edible and the plant itself makes very strong cordage.

[00:12:33]This plant was very useful to our ancestors.

[00:12:36]But did they actually get stoned in the Stone Age?

[00:12:39]Recent DNA evidence found around 12,000 years ago, two families of cannabis diverged. One used for hemp and the other for THC.

[00:12:48]Meaning as far back as Wow, so they started handpicking two different types of weed.

[00:12:54]12,000 years ago to grow for material usage and for getting high. the end of the last Ice Age. Ancient humans were cultivating cannabis for multiple purposes, including drug use.

[00:13:06]High THC varieties could have simply been consumed like an edible or smoked.

[00:13:11]At 12,000 years old, this puts its domestication slightly before any food crops.

[00:13:17]It actually could be the earliest plant ever domesticated.

[00:13:20]It is still contested where it was first domesticated, most likely being East Asia.

[00:13:25]Our earliest direct evidence comes from the Oki Islands near Japan, where 10,200-year-old cannabis seeds were found in Jomon pots.

[00:13:33]Ancient China and India documented using cannabis in spiritual rituals, along with many other cultures.

[00:13:39]Herodotus, the I feel like it would be very common for them to make like a tea, like a like a THC tea, because it's harder to like bake it. I mean, I maybe smoking it's obviously easy, but I could see them like brewing the cannabis into like boiling water. I don't know how much would release out of that, but the world's first historian, documented its use by the Central Asian Scythians. He writes, "The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp seed How much natural weed can make you high? I don't really know how what THC percentage existed in weed 12,000 years ago. Probably very little. Uh but even like in the '70s, like when your parents were in high school, the average joint had like 6% THC. Now the average joint is like 30.

[00:14:29]What percent THC did joints have in the '70s? Oh my god, it's even less.

[00:14:36]Marijuana in the 1970s uh was 1 to 4%. Most estimates were hovering around 2 to 3. Most strains today contain like 20%. And so it was probably even less, but I think not much less, because in the '70s it was probably a lot closer like natural amounts, even if they were harvesting it.

[00:14:55]Marijuana has been selectively bred over the last 30 years to have higher potency. 5 to 10. Weed today is 5 to 7 times stronger than the '70s. And creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon red-hot stones. Immediately it smokes and gives out such a vapor as no Greek vapor bath can exceed. The Scyths, delighted, shout for joy.

[00:15:15]The Scythians were the pioneers of mounted warfare, known as brutal warriors. But it seems they loved a high as much as rest of us.

[00:15:23]Cannabis would make its way into cultures all over Europe and Africa as it spread with trade, becoming important to many religious practices. I don't know about you, Wow, dude. As civilizations merge, you [ __ ] meet a civilization that doesn't have weed, you go, "Yo, check this shit."

[00:15:40]They only have beer.

[00:15:42]Yo, try this [ __ ] out.

[00:15:44]>> find it hilarious that one of the first plants we ever domesticated wasn't to feed villages. No, it was more important >> Getting wild fried is wild. It's actually like very common outside of like Christianity. Even within some sects of Christianity, like smaller groups.

[00:15:59]A lot of other religions get high for the purpose of being spiritual. That's why like a lot of natives uh and like tribes in the United States get legal permission to use peyote even if it's illegal in the state for religious reasons. And it was to get high. But the next >> Very common. next example is even funnier. Humans may actually have an for you, but very common elsewhere.

[00:16:22]>> invented civilization so they could get a steady flow of beer. Alcohol is one of the oldest intoxicating subs- That's psychosis.

[00:16:29]Do you know what psychosis is? -stances consumed by humans. Beer is even funnier. Humans may actually have invented civilization so they could get a steady flow of beer. Alcohol is one of the oldest intoxicating substances consumed by humans.

[00:16:43]Fruit naturally ferments in the wild, and chimpanzees purposely seek out this food source, consuming over two drinks a day worth of alcohol.

[00:16:51]Our ancestors were almost certainly doing the same thing. But at some point we developed a more efficient method. In the Levant region starting 15,000 years ago, the Natufian culture began harvesting wild grains in abundance.

[00:17:04]They were grinding them up into flour using stones, giving them a calorie-rich food staple.

[00:17:09]By mixing with water, they made nutritious porridges, and if left out would ferment into alcohol.

[00:17:15]And we don't just have to hypothesize.

[00:17:17]Researchers have found residue of beer dating back 13,000 years ago in the Levant.

[00:17:22]At Haifa cave, stone mortars were carved into the cave floor where wheat and barley-based alcohol were ground and fermented.

[00:17:29]This proves that beer predates agriculture and even civilization by thousands of years.

[00:17:34]Imagine getting together with your lads in a cave, brewing some beer, and getting drunk 13,000 years ago. Sound Bro, I feel like that had to make you sick though, no? Cuz like earlier beer and alcohol consumption was like obviously yes fermentation, but also like rotting. Like a level of if you got drunk, you're probably going to like vomit not even from being like too drunk like alcohol poisoning. Like you just made yourself sick. It's wonderful.

[00:18:00]But scholars believe that the impact of beer on human culture was far more profound.

[00:18:05]Göbekli Tepe is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.

[00:18:09]It proved that thousands of years before writing or civilization, humans could get together and create massive structures.

[00:18:16]But recent evidence suggests it may have actually been the world's first pub.

[00:18:20]Göbekli Tepe shows no evidence of permanent habitation.

[00:18:22]>> A pub where they pull up and buy drinks?

[00:18:26]What? Humans could get together and create massive structures.

[00:18:29]But recent evidence suggests it may have actually been the world's first pub.

[00:18:33]Göbekli Tepe shows no evidence of permanent habitation.

[00:18:37]The people who built it by all evidence were hunter-gatherers.

[00:18:40]Plenty of plant and animal remains have been found at the site, all of which were undomesticated.

[00:18:45]But their abundance lavish feasts occurred here, feasts which included beer.

[00:18:50]In multiple rooms at Göbekli Tepe, trough-shaped limestone vessels have been found.

[00:18:55]They are built into the floor of the room. Six have been found and in total add up to 160 >> I just wish I could see what like I wish I could experience what it was like to be somebody that lived in that time.

[00:19:08]Like I'm not upset that I'm alive now, you know? I'm glad to be alive in general, but I feel like the connection that humans had with Earth was probably a lot more profound when a lot less was known, you know, there's no society or technology or like any science, you kind of just exist. Like they're still we're animals, we will always be animals, but like we're developed animals. Yes, they were more developed, but they still lived among the creatures of the world.

[00:19:39]Whereas now we have like our own societies. Whereas like that that was probably like a huge deal, man. Like you're you're a hunter-gatherer society, you don't farm, you don't use much agriculture in general. Like you kind of just hunt and you know, forage for items on a day-to-day basis. And once in your life, you build this [ __ ] huge structure and meet up with a bunch of other humans to get [ __ ] hammered.

[00:20:04]Like what a weird experience that would be.

[00:20:07]>> leaders.

[00:20:08]A grayish-black residue was found in the lower part of the vessel.

[00:20:12]Chemical analysis found evidence of oxalate.

[00:20:15]Oxalate develops during the steeping, mashing, and fermentation of cereals and can indicate the production of beer.

[00:20:22]It is still contested if this proves for certain that beer was being produced as old porridge could hypothetically leave the same trace.

[00:20:29]Though many scholars are convinced beer was being made.

[00:20:32]The beer would have had an alcohol concentration of only about 2%. But considering these people had 2%? That ain't that bad though, bro. For [ __ ] 12,000 years ago. no alcohol tolerance >> Drink a gallon of that. Yeah, no alcohol tolerance, they get hammered.

[00:20:46]>> And there was about 40 L in one trough.

[00:20:49]The effect would have been noticeable.

[00:20:51]But beyond the fun that may have gone along with consuming alcohol, beer was safer to consume than water in these days.

[00:20:58]Thus, it was nutritious and safe.

[00:21:00]The vessels are often >> It doesn't that even like transition to like even like the 1200s or like the like the thou like like after, you know, like modern day like Anno Domini AD or CE rather. People would Beer is safer than water? Yeah, because it because of its alcohol contents, there's no like bacteria. Like you if you drank water, it might make you sick versus drinking beer, which is safer to drink.

[00:21:26]Surrounded by benches which could have sat more than a dozen people.

[00:21:29]The perfect structure for communal feasting and drinking.

[00:21:33]Getting drunk with your tribe at Göbekli Tepe, it must have been a great time.

[00:21:36]These feasts were clearly important to bring large groups of people together to bond, share ideas, but also to move massive stones like those found at Göbekli Tepe.

[00:21:45]To supply these feasts They gave young teens beer and wine. It was a long time ago, it was super normal.

[00:21:52]Yo, 6 g, that's like mad normal in Europe today.

[00:21:57]That's like that's like that's not a historical thing. That's like very common in Europe that like a 13-year-old will drink wine at dinners. Some [ __ ] Like with their family. Not like drunk, but like isn't that common?

[00:22:10]I feel like that's common in Europe, no?

[00:22:12]Cuz like the drinking age is lower, too.

[00:22:14]Yeah, it's many common for teens like 14 and younger to have small amounts of wine or beer at family meals.

[00:22:21]As it's viewed at meals, not mirrors. Uh it's more cultural component rather uh dining rather than a forbidden activity.

[00:22:28]In Southern Europe and Germany, table wine is consumed by teenagers quite commonly. East, more grain and meat which was needed, possibly helping to spur on the domestication of both plants and animals.

[00:22:39]Genetic analysis has shown that the domestication of both einkorn and emmer wheat took place in close vicinity to Göbekli Tepe.

[00:22:47]Therefore, farming and ultimately civilization may have been the byproducts of brewing beer.

[00:22:52]I mean, after all, what greater incentive is there than beer? And the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The consumption of alcohol helps communities bond, relieve stress, but also leads to that lateral thinking we were Dude, that's like one of the weirdest things about like I guess like drugs or mind-altering substances in general is like it is such a social thing. Like people drinking together is a social activity. Like one of the biggest things people note about like quitting cigarettes is like they lose friends. And I'm not advocating for cigarettes smoking. I just think it's fascinating that like people that smoke weed together usually just have something in common are more likely to be friends. If you have a co-worker that smokes cigarettes and you smoke cigarettes, you guys will probably be more likely to be friends than somebody else because you guys will take cigarette smoke breaks together and talk. Like yeah, having an interest in some random, you know, mind-altering substance will make you more likely to meet people in some way. Like it's odd.

[00:23:55]I'm not saying it's good. It's bad in some regards, but >> talking about earlier. And this may have led to new ideas in these communities, but every drug we've mentioned so Yeah, it's sharing an experience, Trev. are tame compared to what we discovered in the Americas. In South America >> Want to be a true friendship though?

[00:24:11]You could say that about most friendships you have. True friends are far and few between. Like a a true friendship of virtue is like two people in your life, maybe.

[00:24:21]The majority of friends you have are circumstantial and based off of like you sharing interests and liking being around each other.

[00:24:31]Like you if you play basketball and your friend plays basketball, you both are friends because you both play basketball. Like first and foremost. You might be friends after that for another reason. But the same thing could be said about like you're friends with somebody because they also smoke cigarettes and you met each other at work and you smoke cigarettes and have cigarette breaks together and then you hit it off and now you're friends. It's like the same [ __ ] A variety of incredibly potent drugs have been used since the Stone Age. one of which is coca leaves. The active ingredient What's a true friend?

[00:25:01]Somebody that knows you beyond I mean you I've made philosophy videos about that. True friends, it's like they know you through and through and they are your friend not for any sort of personal gain. They enjoy being around you, but they don't need to to to be friends with you, right? It's hard to explain. It's like a true friend Your parents are your true friends.

[00:25:24]Horrible take. Horrible take. Very dependent on the individual, brother.

[00:25:28]You cannot say your parents are your true friends. Maybe your parents are your true friends. Uh you could not say that about everybody. Uh there's also a uh definitive uh love dynamic that exists between parents and their kids and I will agree with that fully. I think once you're older, I think you could kind of have a uh more friend-based bond with your parents, but Aristotle's has some bad takes, but in Nicomachean Ethics or just like him talking about friendships in general, I will agree that I think that a parent and kid relationship the kid will always have some sort of love in balance with the parent because they're the reason you exist. So, even if you're in good standings, like your mom or dad might be more protective of you than you are of them, but the love that you have for your mother will be more than the love that they have for you. Not always, but a lot of the time. Because it's like they're not They're not your god.

[00:26:34]I'm not saying that, but they're the reason you exist. Same thing with like boss and and and worker, right? You might be casually friends with one another, but like they're higher than you. You're not equals. You're not. You and your mom, you and your dad are not equals. They're above you in a social hierarchy, in a respect sense, and in a biological sense. They're above you, right?

[00:27:00]So, a true friend is generally not a parent. It could be a sibling, it could be just a regular friend, it could be a cousin, but not of somebody that is seen That's a bad take. I don't think it is.

[00:27:14]Again, it is subjective, right? You could You could disagree with me. But, like, there is a hierarchy in terms of, you know, your grandparents are You're You're You should respect them, right? Obviously, you could have a shitty father, shitty mother, and that's a different scenario. But, I'm saying in a general just blanketed paper sheet of social hierarchy, your parents are above you, and their your grandparents are above them. It's It's a respect your elders type thing. And, of course, being cocaine.

[00:27:46]Coca leaves >> What? In South America, a variety of incredibly potent drugs have been used since the Stone Age. One of >> Oh, but chewing coca leaves, not making cocaine.

[00:27:55]>> which is coca leaves, the active ingredient, of course, being cocaine.

[00:27:59]Coca leaves naturally grow all over the Andes.

[00:28:02]Chewing the leaves provides a mild energy boost and relief. But, of course, ancient humans found a way to intensify their effects.

[00:28:09]Archaeologists excavating a house from 8,000 years ago found coca leaves on the floor. And, along with them were pieces of calcite. Calcite helps to release organic compounds. When combined with coca leaves, it creates a much more intense high. The quantities of the leaves suggest that the wider community was coming together to chew coca leaves recreationally.

[00:28:28]And every day, dude, cuz that shit's addicting. It's not like, oh, this was just like something like they When it You could say it's like, oh, more of a spiritual thing with like hallucinogenics, but stuff like coca leaves, that's like super abundant, bro, they were probably high all day.

[00:28:45]>> And, the time period just so happened to line up with the explosion of systematic farming in the region.

[00:28:50]So, coped up farmers were spearheading civilization in the Andes. Guys, I'm starting to think that drugs really did create civilization. Coca would remain popular >> I don't see a civilization that I don't see a world where like humanity exists with zero mind-altering substances.

[00:29:07]Like the average person is not necessarily addicted to but uses either nicotine, alcohol, weed, mushrooms, or some sort of substance.

[00:29:18]Caffeine, another thing. Nobody talks about that. Like probably 80% of the people in this chat use caffeine. Like that's a mind-altering substance. It's a stimulant.

[00:29:30]>> Pillared cultures rose and fell in the Andes. Ancient pottery depicts people >> It's very rare there's somebody that does nothing. Nothing. It's very rare somebody just doesn't have caffeine, they don't drink, they don't smoke, they don't use nicotine, they do nothing.

[00:29:44]It's very rare.

[00:29:45]>> with bulged cheek.

[00:29:46]>> There's people that do it. I I'm not saying like it it but then even the people that do it are usually obsessed with something else.

[00:29:54]Sugary drinks, others like they look forward to something. Presumably >> That changes their brain chemistry in some minute way.

[00:30:01]>> blew chewing coca leaves.

[00:30:03]Evidence suggests it became part of elaborate and often deadly rituals.

[00:30:07]Mormons?

[00:30:09]Uh Mormons but Mormons are obsessed with soda. Mormons are obsessed with soda.

[00:30:14]Are they not? As in uh Sodalicious and those other companies that exist in Utah uh like super [ __ ] popu- popular. The Amish?

[00:30:24]Do the Amish use anything? I feel like the Amish can drink occasionally, no?

[00:30:30]But outside of Rumspringa, like tobacco?

[00:30:34]Some Amish people smoke tobacco in more conservative or traditional older old order communities where it's often considered a tolerated traditional habit, especially amongst men.

[00:30:45]Nicotine. While honest people frown upon it, some groups prohibit it, others grow their tobaccos, smoke cigars, pipes, cigarettes. I mean, it depends. It's probably the specific sub-niche community. And this brings us to one of the most haunting archaeological discoveries of all time, the children of Llullaillaco. In 1999, a man hikes Llullaillaco, one of the tallest mountains in South America.

[00:31:07]Here he discovered a strange stone structure with three children inside.

[00:31:11]Due to the cold and dry conditions, they were almost perfectly preserved. Except for one, which was struck by lightning at some point. They were buried along with figurines made of precious metals and other grave goods.

[00:31:22]Analysis found that the children were sacrificed in an Incan religious ritual taking place around 500 years ago. They were drugged with an immense amount of coca leaves and corn beer. And they seemed to have died in their sleep and placed atop the mountain. The practice of ritual sacrifice in the Andes was intended to ensure health, rich harvests, and favorable weather. While certainly barbaric to us, it was different times back then. Human sacrifice was once incredibly common across the ancient world.

[00:31:49]>> Oh my god, where was it Was it in the Mayan culture where they would kill somebody every day and rip their beating heart out? No, it was the Aztecs. Did they do it every day? Did the Aztecs rip someone's heart out every day? The priest would rip a heart out, place it in a bowl held by a statue. It says frequently, not every day. Around around 200 sacrifices a year potentially, no more then. But what's even crazier is what archaeologists discovered at Cahuachi in Peru. It served as a major religious center of Nazca culture 2,000 years ago. Due to the very dry >> Is penis envy the reason you haven't taken shrooms in a while? No, I've just I just haven't wanted to. But yeah, I did have kind of a not not a not a bad trip, but like I don't know, bro. That [ __ ] was horrible.

[00:32:35]The trip wasn't horrible, that [ __ ] was [ __ ] way too strong, man. That was like bad. I don't take shrooms, by the way, but like holy [ __ ] man. That was It was cuz normally like I I have taken shrooms like 10 times, and I'm not advocating for the use of them, but like every time I've taken them, I've always known I was going to take them like a week prior.

[00:32:53]And the last time I took mushrooms, my friend was like the day of or the day before was like, "You want to take them?" I'm like, "Uh yeah, I'll take like a gram, something like." And I think I took like a gram or a gram and a half, but it was of penis envy, which is way stronger and it has more psilocin and psilocybin than like a regular mushroom, like psilocybe cubensis or enigma mushrooms or like golden golden cap mushrooms or whatever they're called, golden teachers, rather.

[00:33:17]And so, I take it and I just start Dude, it's like 15 minutes in and I go, "Oh, I'm tripping."

[00:33:24]And then I was like, "It's This is going to be I'm I'm not ready for this." And so, I'm like trying to like I'm trying to like calm myself down cuz I'm like, "This is going to be" I thought I was just going to be like, "Oh, feeling a little happy, maybe watch like a Netflix documentary." Dude, the room starts morphing, and I just go, "Oh, no." conditions. The burials at the site led to bodies naturally mummifying.

[00:33:46]Many of these people were sacrificed, four of which were trophy heads.

[00:33:51]But their preservation gave researchers the opportunity to chemically analyze the hair of 22 of these ancient people.

[00:33:57]They found evidence of not only coca, but also ayahuasca.

[00:34:01]Ayahuasca contains one of the most powerful psychedelic substances on Earth, dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.

[00:34:08]Users describe how it can pull you entirely away from reality, including encounters with entities from other realms.

[00:34:15]Researchers think that the mummies at Cahuachi were given ayahuasca to calm and disorient them before their lives were taken.

[00:34:21]But ayahuasca What a horrible way to die. Oh my god. You're tripping balls and then they kill you?

[00:34:29]Yikes.

[00:34:29]>> had to be imported all the way from the Amazon.

[00:34:32]Here it was used for shamanistic rituals for thousands of years.

[00:34:36]Its powerful psychedelic effects were clearly quite useful for shamans.

[00:34:41]There are many ways to create the drug as multiple plant species naturally have it. The most common method is by boiling a specific root and the leaves of a specific shrub. The mixture is drunk with the guide of a shaman.

[00:34:53]Another method involves smoking and an ether beans.

[00:34:56]And in Argentina, a pipe made from the bone of a mountain lion was found with traces of DMT dating back to 4,000 years ago.

[00:35:03]It is insane to think that some guy 4,000 years ago was smoking DMT in the Andes. But another extremely powerful psychedelic substance was Yeah, I mean that dude, I'm telling you right now if I was alive 4,000 years ago, I would probably I would probably be more spiritual than I am.

[00:35:23]Like 100%. If I was the dude in the Andes, no technology exists, not a lot of modern like science exists, and I don't really understand the world around me, and I just start tripping balls in the mountains, I'd go, "Oh my god, like there's there's like purple beings and or whatever they like there's I think it's common that you see like a purple being on DMT or something like that." I would believe in that [ __ ] 100%.

[00:35:44]>> used in the Americas even earlier.

[00:35:46]Peyote is a tiny unassuming cactus, but inside of it is mescaline.

[00:35:50]>> No reason not to. I'd be like, "Well, that was real." an incredibly powerful psychedelic substance.

[00:35:56]The plant produces it to defend against herbivores as it is incredibly bitter and disorienting.

[00:36:02]But of course ancient humans found a way to turn it into a powerful psychedelic experience.

[00:36:06]An archaeological dig in Texas found evidence that Native Americans have been using this plant for at least 5,500 years.

[00:36:13]Medicine men would use it during shamanic ceremonies to heal their communities and acquire wisdom. An unbroken tradition that dates back to the Ice Age in Eurasia.

[00:36:21]When Europeans made it to the region, peyote was documented among dozens of groups including the Apache, Tonkawa, and Comanche.

[00:36:29]As the tribes were colonized and the government tried to destroy native culture, peyote was made illegal.

[00:36:35]But famous Comanche chief Quanah Parker fought hard to maintain the use of peyote in his people's spiritual practices.

[00:36:41]He created a spiritual movement blending aspects of Christianity with indigenous beliefs and peyote use.

[00:36:47]He famously said, "The white man goes into his church and talks about Jesus.

[00:36:51]The Indian goes in his tipi and talks with Jesus."

[00:36:55]This quote explains just how intimate the role of peyote was in many Native American cultures going back thousands of years. But the practice of speaking directly to the spirit world wasn't limited to the Americas. Another substance may have actually inspired some of the most popular religions on Earth. The poppy plant is one of the wildest plants out there. Opium? It naturally produces both morphine and codeine, both of which are incredibly potent narcotics.

[00:37:19]The unripe seeds produce a milky substance that when >> So, religions made up from drugs? No, not necessarily, but I think there If you want the the Joe Rogan take, I think that religion was created through sociological needs as well as like drugs, yeah. Um more What is it called? What is the study of civilizations? Anthropology, I believe.

[00:37:44]Anthropology, study of humanity, yeah.

[00:37:46]If you look at anthropology throughout the years, like certain certain societies that live similar lives but are on different continents come up with very similar religions depending on the type of life that they live.

[00:38:03]Uh bigger societies have more monotheistic gods, kind of like a big brother. More roaming uh like not hunter-gatherer societies, but like more like nomadic people are more likely to believe in similar things. Like you could like look into that [ __ ] Um But I mean like that's one of the reasons I'm not religious, but that's what I believe. I'm not saying it's definitely true because there's no way of proving it, but >> Dried is referred to as opium, The connections are there.

[00:38:30]>> and be eaten or smoked.

[00:38:32]And ancient humans knew just how powerful it was.

[00:38:35]As far back as 8,600 years ago, poppy remains have been found in sites across Europe.

[00:38:41]The plant seems to have been domesticated as early as 8,000 years ago around the Mediterranean.

[00:38:46]Now, they may have just been eating the ripe seeds, which wasn't a leap for them to find out that the unripe seeds can give you an incredible high.

[00:38:53]Stone Age farmers across Europe and Asia were consuming poppy seeds and in all likelihood getting high.

[00:38:59]By the time civilization emerged, we know for a fact that opium was well known. The Minoans even had a poppy goddess.

[00:39:06]Ceramic vessels have been found with a figure in a strange position with poppies protruding from their headband.

[00:39:11]The largest known statue of the goddess was found near a tabular vase used for inhaling opium smoke.

[00:39:17]Opium may have been the basis for cultic rituals that would have influence on later Greek traditions.

[00:39:22]The Sumerians were also fond of opium poppies, which they called the joy plant.

[00:39:27]Sumerian priests used opium to reach a higher state of spirituality.

[00:39:32]At a 4,000-year-old palace in the Syrian city of Ebla, archaeologists found traces of poppy alongside other medicinal plants.

[00:39:39]The room's location at the heart of the palace, combined with cuneiform tablets mentioning priests taking unknown ritual beverages, strongly hints at ceremonial usage.

[00:39:49]Like in Greece, opium was used rituals by the upper classes.

[00:39:54]Many of the religions of the period and in the modern day may have some ties to these early drug-fueled rituals.

[00:40:00]And with a drug as powerful as opium, I'm not surprised.

[00:40:04]It is hilarious to realize that some ancient priests in these societies were full-blown drug addicts.

[00:40:09]Scholars suggest that the impact of these psychoactive substances has been underestimated and that a drug culture was central to ritual across the ancient world. Drug use in modern times has often been framed as a moral weakness, but in reality, it couldn't be more human. From tripping Homo erectus in Pleistocene Africa to shamans in Ice Age Europe to you cracking open a beer on a Friday night, the impulse of drug use is natural. That doesn't mean it's good or bad. I'm just providing you with the historical information so you can make your own decisions without any cultural stigma. And if you enjoyed this deep dive, click this video next.

[00:40:40]>> I loved that video, bro. Oh my god.

[00:40:46]North O2, you are a [ __ ] goat, dude.

[00:40:48]Makes great content.

[00:40:51]Was there an advanced civilization before us? Excuse me, I'm adding that to the watch later as well.