Identifying iconographic evidence for a mushroom cult in the preliterate Southern Levant

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cultures using mind-altering psychedelic mushrooms in literate periods have been identified in the ancient Near East. key to their recognition in preliterate periods. One may assume that psychedelic substances such as mushrooms were elevated to the status of gods, and their secret identity embedded in the iconography of material items in a variety of media. I trace some of these images from late Holocene cultures until at least the Early Bronze Age, and suggest analogies from known contemporary cultures where the mycological cult was practiced. I note the presence of such a cult in the rock art of the Negev and Sinai deserts in Israel. Most of this art is thought to date within the last 5000 years. I also suggest a symbiotic relationship between man and ibex with the growth and collection of mushrooms linking the two.