Stoned ape theory is not just a great name for a band. It’s a theory that human evolution was driven by the use of psychedelic mushrooms. In other words, not only did psilocybin mushrooms drive ancient spiritual beliefs, but they may have played a role in the development of human consciousness.
What is the Stoned Ape Hypothesis?
The stoned ape theory was first hypothesized in the book, Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna.
McKenna was an ethnobotanist who wrote extensively about psychedelics and became a leading voice on the subject during the 1990s.
He believed that a key human evolutionary point (the transformation from homo erectus to homo sapiens) was facilitated by the use of Psilocybe cubensis, a species of magic mushrooms.
The idea is that early humans came down from the treetops in search of food, eventually stumbling on psilocybin mushrooms. When consumed in low doses, McKenna posited that these mushrooms can improve visual acuity, which is the ability to distinguish between shapes at distance and pick up on small details.
This, he said, would have helped our ancestors to hunt and avoid danger.
At higher doses, he said, magic mushrooms can increase libido and thus promote mating and reproduction. At even higher doses, they can alter consciousness and may have promoted the idea of a society/community.
McKenna’s hypothesis even attributes the development of language to the use of magic mushrooms. He also suggests that it could have led to our first religious impulse.
Research and Criticism
The stoned ape theory is an interesting hypothesis, but that’s pretty much all it is.
A scientific theory is something that has been tested and corroborated. It’s something that’s generally regarded as fact by the scientific community, such as the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of General Relativity.
The stoned ape theory doesn’t fall into this category, making it somewhat of a misnomer.
It has been promoted by some psychedelic advocates as fact, but there is very little scientific evidence supporting it.
Critics of the theory argue that there is no way for magic mushrooms to influence our DNA, so it couldn’t have triggered the sort of changes proposed by McKenna.
In other words, while there is no doubt that magic mushrooms can have a profound effect on human consciousness, there’s nothing to suggest that those effects could work their way into our DNA and pass from one generation to the next.
Later writers have tweaked McKenna’s theory somewhat, suggesting that magic mushrooms may have helped to trigger something known as the “Creative Explosion”, which is when humans began producing art. This period began 40,000 years ago, much later than McKenna suggests, but it was an equally important period in human evolution.
The Effects of Psilocybin Mushrooms
Some of the most damning criticism for the stoned ape theory comes from magic mushrooms themselves.
Obviously, a key part of McKenna’s theory is that magic mushrooms are able to produce the kind of effects that would make humans better hunters and gatherers and allow them to form communities at larger doses.
But the idea that magic mushrooms can increase visual acuity has been heavily criticized as a misrepresentation. The theory cites research by Roland Fischer, who studied the effects of psilocybin mushrooms. But Fischer’s research highlighted changes in visual perception and not visual acuity.
There is also very little scientific evidence that psilocybin can increase sexual arousal (although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence). More importantly, even if it were to produce such effects, there’s no reason to suggest it would create an evolutionary advantage. As noted above, magic mushrooms don’t change human DNA, which means they don’t produce changes that can be passed down from one generation to the next.
A key part of the stoned ape hypothesis is that psychedelic mushrooms made humans more altruistic, reducing our violent and aggressive tendencies and allowing us to form large groups. But we know that’s not really the case. The Aztecs used magic mushrooms as part of spiritual rituals, and that didn’t stop them from practicing human sacrifice.
Similar violent tendencies have been noted among Amazonian tribes that regularly consume psychedelic plants.
Is the Stoned Ape Theory Wrong?
It would be unfair to state that this hypothesis is wrong on every level, as we can’t be sure either way.
We can make a few assumptions, though.
First, it’s fair to assume that our ancestors would have experimented with psychedelic substances. Many indigenous cultures use these drugs for spiritual reasons and it’s not far-fetched to assume that our ancient relatives would have done the same.
We also know that psychedelics can enhance consciousness, so they may have played a role in early religious beliefs, as well the Creative Explosion.
At the same time, however, the hypothesis is heavily flawed and poorly cited. There’s simply no evidence to support it.
What Do Experts Say about the Theory?
Dennis McKenna, Terence’s brother, has spoken extensively about the stoned ape theory in the past, noting that, “It’s not so simple to say that [early humans] ate psilocybin mushrooms and suddenly the brain mutated, I think it’s more complex than that, but I think it was a factor.”
Michael Pollan, the author of How To Change Your Mind, is a critic of the idea. In an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, he noted that he “didn’t find it very persuasive”, before suggesting that if you pressed Terence McKenna on the idea, he didn’t find it very persuasive either.
Pollan stated that while he can see how psychedelics can affect the human brain and even influence speech, he can’t understand they would influence the genes.
Summary: The Stoned Ape Theory
The stoned ape hypothesis is a fascinating idea that explores the possibility that psilocybin mushrooms influenced the evolution of human beings. It suggests that as human beings began descending from the treetops, we stumbled across some magic mushrooms, ate them, and experienced profound changes that allowed us to evolve into homo sapiens.
Unfortunately, there is little to no evidence supporting any of the claims and there are also some huge gaps in the theory.
Mushrooms may have contributed to human cultural evolution, but it’s unlikely that they are a kind of psychoactive missing link that facilitated our evolution.