A Prehistoric Mural in Spain Depicting Neurotropic Psilocybe Mushrooms?

7/24/2019 A Prehistoric Mural in Spain Depicting Neurotropic Psilocybe Mushrooms?

1/8

A Prehistoric Mural in Spain Depicting NeurotropicPsilocybeMushrooms?1

BRIANP. AKERS*,2, JUANFRANCISCORUIZ3, ALANPIPER4, ANDCARLA. P. RUCK5

2New Port Richey, FL, USA3Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacin y Humanidades, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha,Cuenca, Spain

4London, England, UK5Classical Studies Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA*Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]

A Prehistoric Mural in Spain Depicting NeurotropicPsilocybeMushrooms? The Selva Pasc-uala mural, a work of post-Paleolithic rock art in Spain, contains fungoidgures herein hypoth-esized to depict neurotropic fungi, especially Psilocybe hispanica, a species that occurs in aneighboring region. This hypothesis is based on features of these gures related to fungal morp-hology, along with ethnographic analogy, and shamanistic explanations of rock art. If correct, thisinterpretation would support inference of prehistoric utilization of this fungus in the region. Themural represents therst direct evidence for possible ritual use ofPsilocybein prehistoric Europe.

Se Representan Setas Neurotrpicas Psilocybe en un Mural Prehistrico de Espaa?. Elpanel de Selva Pascuala (Villar del Humo, Cuenca, Espaa) conserva pinturas rupestres decronologa postpaleoltica entre las que se incluyen guras con apariencia de seta, para lasque aqu planteamos la hiptesis de que representan setas de efectos neurotrpicos, en concretoPsilocybe hispanica, una especie que crece en regiones prximas. Esta hiptesis se basa en lascaractersticas de estasguras en comparacin con la morfologa de dichas setas, a lo que seaade la analoga etnogrca y la teora del chamanismo aplicada al arte rupestre. Si estamosen lo cierto, esta interpretacin apoyara la posible utilizacin regional de estas setas durante laPrehistoria. El panel supone la primera evidencia directa del posible uso ritual de Psilocybeen laPrehistoria europea.

Key Words: Psilocybe, neurotropic fungi, post-paleolithic, rock art, levantine art, schematicart.

IntroductionRitual use of neurotropic fungi has been noted

in several culture areas, most notably Mexico andSiberia. Almost 20 Psilocybe species have beenused in shamanistic rites in Mexico (Guzmn2008). In Siberia, shamans have made similar useof y agaric, Amanita muscaria (L.:Fr.) Pers., aneurotropic fungus with pharmacology differingfrom that ofPsilocybe.

These historic traditions of native Mexico and

Siberia are well documented, but their cultural

origins are unclear. Archaeological artifactsincluding ceramics from northwest Mexico, plusthe so-called mushroom stones associated withthe Mayan Classic and Preclassic periods, havebeen interpreted as evidence for usage of neuro-tropic fungi in Mesoamerica spanning more than2,000 years (Borhegyi 1961; Furst 1974). Basedon their studies, Wasson and Wasson (1957)suggested even greater antiquity for such practices,and proposed similar traditions were likely morecommon and widespread in prehistory. (For a

recent critique of Wasson and Wasson [1957], seeLetcher2006.)

Evidence concerning the ritual use of fungi inprehistory is scant, but rock art from several

1 Received 25 November 2010; accepted 26January 2011; published online 17 February 2011.

Economic Botany, 65(2), 2011, pp. 121128 2011, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.


2/8

regions has been cited in relation to the ideaWasson and Wasson (1957) put forth. Possiblythe most ancient example is from Tassili, in theSahara desert, southeast Algeria. In a cave there,

Samorini (1992) found a painted mural dated7000 to 9000 B.P. portraying fungi, possiblyPsilocybe maireiSinger, according to G. Guzmn(pers. comm.), a species known from Algeria andMorocco. In northeastern Siberia, Dikov (1971)discovered fungoid petroglyphs on large exposedrocky formations in the Pegtymel River region,apparently of shamanistic signicance and likelyrepresentingAmanita muscaria.

The present paper details ndings from study ofthe Selva Pascuala mural (Fig.1), a striking work of

prehistoric rock art at the Villar del Humo culturalsite in Cuenca, Spain. Along with other composi-tional elements including most prominently a bull,this painted scene contains distinctly fungoidpictographs. Previously described as anchor-like(Acosta 1968) or mushroom-like (Alonso 1983),these gures appear toward the lower right, in adistinct horizontal row of 13. Each consists of a

vertically oriented, stalk-like lower portion varyingfrom straight to sinuous, apparently representingthe stipe, capped by an upper portion suggesting

the pileus, convex to bluntly subconical in form.Ramn Vias, a Spanish archaeologist experi-enced in Levantine and Mexican rock art, was therst to suggest informally that these pictographs,true to their appearance, might in fact representfungi (Vias pers. comm. to J. F. Ruiz and J. F.

Jordn in 2007). Their portrayal in associationwith a bull seemed especially interesting in thisregard, considering the manure habitat of a fewPsilocybespecies. The purpose of our study was toassess the validity of Vias suggestion by testingit against data and analysis from archaeology andmycology. Our objective was to evaluate whetherthis hypothesis would prove tenable in light of

various relevant lines of evidence.

The Site and Prehistoric Rock Artin Spain

The Selva Pascuala mural is one of twopictographic panels found at the Selva Pascualarock shelter, which was discovered in 1918 byarchaeologist E. Hernndez-Pacheco (1959). Theshelter measures 1,220 cm in width by 315 cm in

height, and the fungal pictographs are up to8.8 cm in height. The site is located in themunicipality of Villar del Humo, within thecentral Spanish province of Cuenca. Villar del

Humo lies within the outskirts of the Sierra de lasCuerdas, a group of medium-sized mountains of900 to 1,500 m altitude in the southernmost partof the Sistema Ibrico range. The local landscape

is rugged, with dense pine forests growing amidcliffs and boulders of reddish Triassic sandstone.

Although little is known of the post-Paleolithicculture in this region, it is noted as an importantrecord of prehistoric rock art. The rst such site

was discovered in 1917. Fol lowing severalarchaeological surveys over the last decade, thenumber of rock art sites documented has grownfrom 13 to 40 (Poyato et al. 2007; Ruiz2006).

The rock art of Villar del Humo belongs totwo major art styles: Levantine and Schematic.

Levantine art is distributed over the eastern halfof the Iberian Peninsula, a region referred to asthe Spanish Levant. It represents a naturalisticstyle in which human and animal gures playmajor roles, with vivid scenes of hunting activ-ities, dancing, and ghting. Schematic art isfound throughout the Peninsula and featuresdots, lines, zigzags, and schematized gures,painted with broader brushes and a less carefultechnique. Both styles occur together at varioussites, including Selva Pascuala, and were probably

produced by the same culture undergoing a long-term process of change (Mateo2001; Ruiz2006).However, some researchers believe they mayreect two consecutive cultures that coexistedand competed with each other in this part of thePeninsula over a period of time (Hernndez andB. Mart 2000; Martnez and Villaverde 2002).

At Selva Pascuala, naturalistic and schematicgures appear together in the mural with noappearance of competition or erasure of one bythe other, suggesting a meaningful relationship inthe overall composition, even if both styles wereproduced in different chronological periods.

Levantine and Schematic art are distinguishedfrom Paleolithic rock art, particularly the remark-able Franco-Cantabrian tradition of northern Spainand southwestern France, known from cave sitessuch as Lascaux and Altamira among others.Franco-Cantabrian art typically occurs in deepcaves, but Levantine and Schematic art is mainlyfound at rock shelters, which tend to be more openand exposed to the elements. Large animals are theprincipal subjects of Paleolithic cave paintings,

whereas humans and their activities gure moreprominently in Levantine and Schematic art. Thelatter styles are also distinguished from Paleolithicart by their use of plain colors, mainly red but also

122 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL 65


3/8

black and white. Finally, Levantine and Schematicpaintings are relatively small, 1 m or less, compared

with the typically larger scale of Franco-Cantabrianart.

Although Paleoli thic art dif fers in somerespects from these post-Paleolithic styles, theirmeanings may be related based on a commonhunting and gathering adaptation that typiedthe Upper Pleistocene and persisted in the IberianPeninsula until the fourth millennium B.C.E. In

the eastern part of the Peninsula, Paleolithic andpost-Paleolithic styles display some similarities,highlighted by new discoveries in the last decade.Both have a conspicuous, consistent emphasis on

animals and hunting motifs, clearly reected inthe Levantine hunting scenes. Both traditionsoffer abundant evidence of magical or ritualfunctions, presumably based in symbolic meaningof the reduced number of animal species mostoften portrayed, apart from their relative economicimportance. Anthropomorphism plays a role inthese depictions, often assimilating the hunter tothe hunted.

Such interpretations are based on similarities

between the older and more recent styles ofprehistoric art, plus ethnographic analogies withextant hunting and gathering cultures. There is anincreasing consensus that painted rock shelters of

Fig. 1. The Selva Pascuala mural. (a) Whole mural (digital tracing, J. F. Ruiz). (b) Detail, bull and mushroompictographs (photograph, A. Piper).

123AKERS ET AL.: PREHISTORICPSILOCYBEMUSHROOMS2011]


4/8

the Spanish Levant and caves featuring Paleolithicart were long regarded as sacred sites or sanctuaries;that is, they were places of ritual importance. Basedon the austerity of their location and consistent

subject matter, these ancient rock art sites cannot bewell understood in secular terms as mere creativedecoration or artistic expression for its own sake(Daz-Andreu2001).

In recent decades, shamanistic interpretationsinvolving altered states of consciousness orarchaic techniques of ecstasy (Eliade 1964)have been proposed for rock art in Europe andelsewhere (Clottes and Lewis-Williams 1998;Lewis-Williams 2002; Lewis-Williams andDowson 1988; Turpin 1994). Indigenous uses

of neurotropic fungi typically involve a shamanisticcontext, and the identication proposed here isbased in part on general explanations of rock art inshamanistic terms. It must be noted that suchexplanations remain theoretical thus far, and subjectto disagreements as well as further study (for arecent critique see Bahn2010).

Antiquity and Dating of the MuralConsiderable uncertainty prevails over the

exact age of the Selva Pascuala mural, as well as

Levantine and Schematic art in general. Levantineart was formerly interpreted as Paleolithic, butarchaeologists nowadays tend to place it in a post-Paleolithic context; i.e., after the Pleistocene.Many prehistorians now date it close to the riseof the rst Neolithic farming and herdingcommunities in the Iberian Peninsula. As noted,the role of animals in Levantine art recallsPaleolithic art, pointing toward a cultural adapta-tion resembling that of the Upper Pleistocene.However, in contrast to Franco-Cantabrian art,extinct Ice Age fauna are absent from this post-Paleolithic style, reecting its more recent origins.Indeed, at Selva Pascuala the panel other than theone studied here contains a scene of horsedomestication, a rarity for Levantine and Schematicart indicating a Bronze Age cultural stage.

Recent research (Ruiz et al. 2006) using14C AMS analysis of calcium oxalate patinae hasprovided the rst radiometric dates related toprehistoric art in the Sierra de las Cuerdas.Results indicate at least some Levantine artin the region could have been painted around

6000 B.C.E., prior to the Neolithic in the IberianPeninsula (Ruiz et al.2009). However, Levantineart was likely produced over a long period oftime, up through the end of the Neolithic. On

the other hand, Schematic art appears withthe rst Neolithic cultures, based on parallelsbetween this style and decorated ceramics thathave been well dated archaeologically (Torregrosa

and Galiana 2001). The older Neolithic sites inthe Peninsula are dated after circa 5600 B.C.E.(Zilho2001).

Conclusions about the age of the SelvaPascuala mural are tentative. Central portions,such as the bull, are clearly Levantine and may goback at least as far as 6000 B.C.E. The fungoidgures are interpreted as Schematic and likelyMiddle Neolithic, circa 4000 B.C.E. in thisregion. Unfortunately, the archaeological recordfor other cultural remains at the site is limited to

some fragmentary evidence ofre usage and intknapping; such is difcult to clearly associate withthe mural. Selva Pascuala was not a habitation sitebut rather one of special purpose, consistent witha shamanistic interpretation.

Interpretation of the Muraland Mycological Identication

Based on its combination of Levantine andSchematic elements, the Selva Pascuala mural islikely to have originated with more than one artist

in successive episodes of painting activity. Itsinterpretation must be qualied by indications itunderwent a process of re-elaboration over time.

At the center of the scene, animals are dominant.There are two large bulls, one of which has almostdisappeared, plus a deer and several humangures. These are rendered in Levantine styleand probably trace to an earlier stage, based ontheir central position. Several Schematic guresappear around the edge of the mural, apparentlyadded later and without disturbing the previouscomposition. Some of them, including the mush-room-like pictographs studied here, play anapparent role more typical of Levantine humangures, being placed toward the margin, aroundthe central portion in which animal gurespredominate.

The fungoid gures in the mural displayindividual differences of form resembling thekind of morphological variation commonlyobserved in fruit bodies of a single species. Twoof them, in the tenth and eleventh positions(counting left to right), also show a split or

bifurcated base, which could lend to anthropomor-phic interpretation as legs. Indeed, the gures in thisrow have been previously interpreted as schematizedhuman beings (Alonso1983).



5/8

Recently proposed explanations for rock artbased on ritualized trance or altered states,together with ethnographic analogies for use ofPsilocybe and Amanita, suggest that the picto-

graphs, interpreted as mushrooms, would likelyrepresent neurotropic fungi. In consultation withDr. Gastn Guzmn, we noted features of the 13fruit bodies and the variations among them inlight of fungal morphology and taxonomic con-cepts. The pictographs appear to illustrate afungus with a convex to conic-subumbonatepileus and a straight to sinuous stipe, lacking anannulus. Accordingly and using these criteria,mycological data were reviewed to determine

whether any neurotropic species occurred in the

region with features matching those indicated inthe mural. Amanita muscaria was excludedbecause of its non-sinuous stipe and large,persistent annulus. Moreover its pileus is adorned

with conspicuous veil remnants, typically empha-sized in artistic treatments, and notably lacking inthe mural gures. We also considered the muralscombination of bovine and fungal gures raisedsome question of a possible habitat association.Likewise, this posed no apparent connection with

A. muscaria, a mycorrhizal species.

Close similarities were noted, however,between the mural pictographs and the neuro-tropic fungusPsilocybe hispanicaGuzmn (Fig.2).Known so far only from Spain, this species wasdescribed from a locale near Huesca in thePyrenees Mountains, approximately 275 kmnortheast of Selva Pascuala, in the Aragon region.It is reportedly used there recreationally for itsneurotropic effects, especially by young people(Fernndez-Sasia 2006; Guzmn 2000; Guzmnand Castro2006). Its pileus is convex to subcon-ical, closely matching the pictographs. The straightto sinuous stipes of the murals mushrooms alsoagree well with those of P. hispanica (Guzmn2000). Our knowledge of this species to date isbased on only three collections, so additionalcomparative data would be valuable. Nonethelessif the mural relates to a shamanistic context andthe pictographs represent mushrooms, we considerP. hispanicaa uniquely apt candidate for the likelyidentity of the species depicted, as proposed byGuzmn.

Habitat data also correlate with the identica-

tion tentatively suggested here. Psilocybe hispanicais a coprophilic species, coinciding with themurals association of bovine with fungal gures.This species has been collected so far only from

horse dung, but coprophilic fungi present a widerange for kinds of dung they inhabit. This is wellillustrated byPsilocybe cubensis(Earle) Singer, andP. coprophila(Bull.: Fr.) P. Kumm., which occuron dung of many kinds of herbivorous mammalsincluding horse and cattle, among others.

There is another neurotropic fungus in theregion that might be considered in light of themural pictographs, Psilocybe semilanceata (Fr.:Secr.) P. Kumm. This species is closely related toP. hispanica but differs in its pileus, which isacutely papillate and more narrowly conical tosubcampanulate. These features point away fromany relationship with the fungi depicted at SelvaPascuala. It grows only on soil rather than dung,likewise offering no specic link with the apparentbovine association in the mural.

Psilocybe hispanicahas been found so far onlyin the Pyrenees region, in alpine Pinus forests at2,000 to 3,000 m altitude. The Selva Pascuala

site lies at 1,070 m. However, it is likely that P.hispanicahas a wider ecological distribution thanis presently known, based on studies of otherspecies such as P. aztecorum R. Heim emend.

Fig. 2. Psilocybe hispanicaGuzmn (photograph, I.

Seral).



6/8

Guzmn. The latter was originally described fromalpine Pinus forests at 3,500 m altitude (Heim1957), but Guzmn (1978) later found it in anon-alpine Pinusforest at 2,500 m.

In view of the temporal separation between theSelva Pascuala mural and our records ofPsilocybehispanica in the present, a related question arisesof climate change as a possible factor affectingdistribution of this species over time. We have nomid-Holocene records for the Sierra de lasCuerdas, but several studies have been publishedaddressing paleoclimate for medium altitudemountains in a radius of approximately 100 kmaround Villar del Humo (Carrin and van Geel1999; Fernndez-Miranda and Moure 1977;

Stevenson 2000). Studies indicate mature forestsofPinus species with some deciduous trees were

well established. The data present no indicationscontrary to the likely presence ofP. hispanica inthe region during the era of the Selva Pascualamural.

Following shamanistic explanations of rock art,ethnographic analogies for use of Psilocybe and

Amanita suggest to us that Selva Pascualaprobably reects a similar context of neurotropicfungi consumption. Our interpretation of the

mural, if correct, would imply ritual usage ofneurotropic fungi, especiallyPsilocybe hispanica, aspart of the post-Paleolithic culture pattern in thisregion. Accordingly, Selva Pascuala presents therst direct evidence for possible utilization ofPsilocybe in prehistoric Europe. Along withPegtymel and Tassilli, the mural represents thethird reported instance of rock art suggestingprehistoric usage of neurotropic fungi. Tassilli isthe only site previously known that may likelyrepresent Psilocybe. Selva Pascuala thus offers thesecond such example.

DiscussionExamples of apparent Schematic style fungal

depictions other than in Selva Pascuala have beenrecorded. These include Marmalo V at Villar delHumo (Alonso1983-84), plus Monte Arab andCantos de la Visera, both at Yecla in the Murciaprovince (Acosta1968). How such sites relate toSelva Pascuala is unclear, but their existence isinteresting in view of our ndings about themural.

Selva Pascualas apparent association of bovineimagery withPsilocybeis noteworthy in light of amythic link between the bull and mushrooms,extending into classical Mediterranean history

and seemingly related to intoxication. In Greekmythology, mushrooms bellow like bulls as theyfruit from the ground; and Dionysus, the god ofintoxication, manifests as a bull that his ecstatic

devotees dismember barehanded (Ruck 2006).Fungi are similarly anthropomorphized as a

variety of taurine monsters, which the mythichero masters by decapitation, harvesting the head(Ruck et al.2000). This mythic encounter of thehero with the bull and its harvesting as a magicalplant is traceable to Mithraism and its revision asZoroastrianism, arguably the earliest monotheisticreligion. Deication of the bull in shamanisticcontexts has been documented at shrines andsanctuaries excavated at Catal Hyk in Anatolia,

a tradition dating back to the era of Selva Pascuala(Ruck et al. 2009). The Selva Pascuala muralalso seems to express this widespread metaphoriczoomorphism.

If the identication proposed herein is correct,the dung habitat ofPsilocybe hispanicais sufcientby itself to explain the murals combination offungus and bovine. But there may be more thanhabitat involved in this association, as well asother elements of the mural, possibly relating tothe effects ofPsilocybeupon humans or animals as

observed by humans. The bifurcated bases of twoof the fungal pictographs are suggestive of humanlegs. This might represent a transformationprocess relating to perceived effects on humans,in a sense reconciling previous interpretation ofthese pictographs as anthropomorphs. Observedeffects of neurotropic fungi or plants uponanimals that ingest them may also underlie fungalzoomorphism and anthropomorphism at SelvaPascuala and elsewhere. In any case, the muralsdepiction of mushrooms carefully arranged in arow with correct detail and features, seems tosuggest they held special signicance for the artistand cultural context.

ConclusionWe suggest that Vias hypothesis is sound,

and the Selva Pascuala mural likely depictsmushrooms, especially neurotropic fungi.

Although Psilocybe hispanica presents a probablecandidate for the species depicted, as indicated byGuzmn, we emphasize that this identication istentative, and contingent upon a shamanistic

interpretation of the mural. Understanding ofSelva Pascuala and related sites will no doubtbenet from further research on rock art andpost-Paleolithic culture in Spain.



7/8

AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank Gastn Guzmn for his

identication of the mural fungi, plus members of

his team

especially Florencia Ramirez-Guillenand Manuel Hernandez. We thank the author-ities at the Institute of Ecology (Veracruz,Mexico) for their support. We also thank JuanFrancisco Jordn Montes and Jos Alfredo GonzlezCeldrn for their involvement and onsite assistanceto Carl Ruck and Alan Piper; and John Moeller forhelp obtaining literature sources.

Literature CitedAcosta, P. 1968. La pintura rupestre esquemtica en

Espaa. Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca.Alonso, A. 198384. Los conjuntos rupestres de

Marmalo y Castelln de los Machos (Villar delHumo, Cuenca). Empries 4546:829.

Bahn, P. G. 2010. Prehistoric rock art: Polemicsand progress. Cambridge University Press,Boston.

Borhegyi, S. 1961. Miniature mushroom stonesfrom Guatemala. American Antiquity 26:498504.

Carrin, J. S. and B. van Geel. 1999. Fine-

resolution Upper Weichselian and Holocenepalynological record from Navarres (Valencia,Spain) and a discussion about factors ofMediterranean forest succession. Review ofPalaeobotany and Palynology 106:209236.

Clottes, J. and D. Lewis-Williams. 1998. TheShamans of Prehistory: Trance and magic inthe Painted Caves. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,New York.

Daz-Andreu. 2001. Marking the landscape:Iberian post-paleolithic art, identities and thesacred. Pages 158175 in G. H. Nash and C.Chippindale, eds., European landscapes ofRock-Art. Routledge, London.

Dikov, N. N. 1971. Naskalnyie zagadki drevneiChukotki: Petroglify Pegtymelia (Rock artpuzzles of Ancient Chukotka: Pegtymel petro-glyphs). Nauka, Moscow.

Eliade, M. 1964. Shamanism: Archaic techniquesof ecstasy. Pantheon Books, New York.

Fernndez-Miranda, M. and J. A. Moure. 1977.El abrigo de Verdelpino (Cuenca): Noticia delos trabajos de 1976. Trabajos de Prehistoria

34:3184.Fernndez-Sasia, R. 2006. Psilocybe hispanica

Guzmn, un taxn novedoso en nuestroentorno. Errotari 3:7376.

Furst, P. T. 1974. Hallucinogens in Precolum-bian art. Pages 55102 in M. E. King and R.Traylor Jr., eds., Art and environment inNative America. Texas Tech University Press,

Lubbock, Texas.Guzmn, G. 1978. Variation, distribution, eth-

nomycological data and relationships ofPsilo-cybe aztecorum, a Mexican hallucinogenicmushroom. Mycologia 70:385396.

2000. New species and new records ofPsilocybe from Spain, the U.S.A. and Mexico,and a new case of poisoning by P. barrerae.Documents Mycologiques 29:4152.

2008. Hallucinogenic mushrooms inMexico: An overview. Economic Botany

62:404412. and M. L. Castro. 2006. Observations

on some known species ofPsilocybefrom Spainand description of a new species. BoletnSociedad Micolgica de Madrid 27:181187.

Heim, R. 1957. Sur les Psilocybes hallucinatoiresdes Aztques et sur le microendmisme des

Agarics utiliss par les Indies du Mexique desns divinatoires. Comptes Rendus des Sancesde lAcadmie de Sciences 245:17611765.

Hernndez, M. S. and B. Mart. 2000. El arte

rupestre de la fachada mediterrnea: Entre latradicin epipaleoltica y la expansin neoltica.Zephyrus 5354:241265.

Hernndez-Pacheco, E. 1959. Prehistoria delsolar hispano. Madrid. Real Academia deCiencias Exactas, Fsicas y Naturales, XX.

Letcher, A. 2006. Shroom: A cultural history of themagic mushroom. Faber and Faber, London.

Lewis-Williams, D. J. 2002. The mind in thecave: Consciousness and the origins of art.Thames & Hudson, London.

and T. A. Dowson. 1988. Signs of thetimes: Entoptic phenomena in Upper Paleo-lithic art. Current Anthropology 29:201245.

Martnez, R. and V. Villaverde. 2002. La Covadels Cavalls en el Barranc de la Valltorta:Monografas del Instituto de Arte Rupestre, 1.Trig, Spain: Museu de Valltorta.

Mateo, M. A. 2001. Arte Levantino adversuspintura esquemtica: Puntos de encuentro ydivergencias entre dos horizontes culturales dela prehistoria peninsular. Quaderns de prehis-tora i arqueologa de Castell 22:183211.

Poyato, C., J. F. Ruiz, and R. Guilln. 2007.Investigacin y puesta en valor del conjunto dearte rupestre de Villar del Humo, Cuenca.Pages 399429 in J. M. Milln and C.



8/8

Rodrguez, eds., Arqueologa de CastillaLaMancha: I Jornadas, Cuenca, 1317 dediciembre de 2005. Cuenca, Spain:Edicionesde la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha.

Ruck, C. A. P. 2006. Sacred mushrooms of thegoddess: The secrets of Eleusis. Ronin Publish-ing, Inc., Oakland, California.

, B. D. Staples, and C. Heinrich. 2000.Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian mys-teries of the Eucharist. Carolina AcademicPress, Durham, North Carolina.

, M. A. Hoffman, and J. A. GonzlezCeldrn. 2009. Mushrooms, myths and mithras.City Lights Publisher, San Francisco.

Ruiz, J. F. 2006. Las pinturas rupestres en la

Serrana de Cuenca: Anlisis, revisin y crticadel concepto de estilo en las manifestacionesplsticas postpaleolticas. Unpublished Ph.D.Thesis, UNED (Universidad Nacional deEducacin a Distancia), Madrid.

, M. Mas, A. Hernanz, M. W. Rowe, K.Steelman, and J. M. Gavira. 2006. Firstradiocarbon dating of oxalate crusts overSpanish prehistoric rock art. INORA News-letter 46:15.

, M. W. Rowe, A. Hernanz, J. M. Gavira,

R. Vias, A. Rubio, and C. Matamoros. 2009.Cronologa del arte rupestre postpaleoltico y

datacin absoluta de ptinas de oxalato clcico:Primeras experiencias en CastillaLa Mancha(20042007). Pages 303316 inJ. A. Lpez andR. Martnez, eds., El arte rupestre del arco

mediterrneo de la Pennsula Ibrica. Museo deBellas Artes San Po, Valencia, Spain.

Samorini, G. 1992. The oldest representations ofhallucinogenic mushrooms in the world(Sahara Desert, 90007000 B.P.). Integration2(3):6978.

Stevenson, A. C. 2000. The Holocene foresthistory of the Montes Universales, Tereul,Spain. The Holocene 10:603610.

Torregrosa, P. and M. F. Galiana. 2001. El arteesquemtico del Levante peninsular: Una

aproximacin a su dimensin temporal. Millars24:183198.

Turpin, S. A., ed. 1994. Shamanism and rock artin North America. Rock Art Foundation, San

Antonio, Texas.Wasson, R. G. and V. P. Wasson. 1957. Mush-

rooms, Russia and history. Pantheon Books,New York.

Zilho, J. 2001. Radiocarbon evidence for mar-itime pioneer colonization at the origins offarming in west Mediterranean Europe. Pro-

ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences98:1418014185.
