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Cited by 86Psychedelics and Drug StudiesEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorPleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

Psychedelics, Sociality, and Human Evolution

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Rodríguez Arce, José Manuel, Winkelman, Michael James·2021·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729425PMC PMC8514078
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Abstract

Our hominin ancestors inevitably encountered and likely ingested psychedelic mushrooms throughout their evolutionary history. This assertion is supported by current understanding of: early hominins’ paleodiet and paleoecology; primate phylogeny of mycophagical and self-medicative behaviors; and the biogeography of psilocybin-containing fungi. These lines of evidence indicate mushrooms (including bioactive species) have been a relevant resource since the Pliocene, when hominins intensified exploitation of forest floor foods. Psilocybin and similar psychedelics that primarily target the serotonin 2A receptor subtype stimulate an active coping strategy response that may provide an enhanced capacity for adaptive changes through a flexible and associative mode of cognition. Such psychedelics also alter emotional processing, self-regulation, and social behavior, often having enduring effects on individual and group well-being and sociality. A homeostatic and drug instrumentalization perspective suggests that incidental inclusion of psychedelics in the diet of hominins, and their eventual addition to rituals and institutions of early humans could have conferred selective advantages. Hominin evolution occurred in an ever-changing, and at times quickly changing, environmental landscape and entailed advancement into a socio-cognitive niche, i.e., the development of a socially interdependent lifeway based on reasoning, cooperative communication, and social learning. In this context, psychedelics’ effects in enhancing sociality, imagination, eloquence, and suggestibility may have increased adaptability and fitness. We present interdisciplinary evidence for a model of psychedelic instrumentalization focused on four interrelated instrumentalization goals: management of psychological distress and treatment of health problems; enhanced social interaction and interpersonal relations; facilitation of collective ritual and religious activities; and enhanced group decision-making. The socio-cognitive niche was simultaneously a selection pressure and an adaptive response, and was partially constructed by hominins through their activities and their choices. Therefore, the evolutionary scenario put forward suggests that integration of psilocybin into ancient diet, communal practice, and proto-religious activity may have enhanced hominin response to the socio-cognitive niche, while also aiding in its creation. In particular, the interpersonal and prosocial effects of psilocybin may have mediated the expansion of social bonding mechanisms such as laughter, music, storytelling, and religion, imposing a systematic bias on the selective environment that favored selection for prosociality in our lineage.

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Authors
Rodríguez Arce, J. M., & Winkelman, M. J.
Affiliations
Arizona State University (US)
ORCID
Winkelman, Michael James
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2021-09-29
Volume
12
Pages
729425-729425
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729425
PMC
PMC8514078
OpenAlex
W3204171992
Cited by
86
References
308
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 12
FWCI
8.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Keywords
psychedelics, psilocybin, hominin evolution, sociality, mycophagy, paleodiet, paleoecology, 5-HT2A receptor, prosocial behavior, social bonding, religion and ritual, group decision making, psychological distress, Pliocene

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