On Mon, 16 Jun 2003, Adrienne Smith wrote:

> our paleo ancestors who faced tremendous stress just to survive (did you
> all catch the poor chap on Walking With Cavemen who got his skull
> pierced by a giant antler?!!) wouldn't have possibly found it
> intoxicating to be intoxicated??

Although a lot of discussion lately has focused on alcohol. I would guess
that our paleo ancestors, if they wanted to be intoxicated, would find
other substances more readily availble. Psilocybin mushrooms, amanita
mushrooms, peyote, marijuana, coco leaves, licking toads, ad infinitum...

If paleo peoples did use these substances, there must have also been a
paleolithic equivalent of The Grateful Dead, however I have seen nothing
to indicate this in the archeological record.

I saw something on the Yanomamo of the Amazon once, where they prepare
this hallucinagenic substance, then someone takes a hollow reed and blows
it up the nose of the other guy. The indians here in the Pacific Northwest
apparently used to smoke kinickinick.

Craig