Many people assume that experiments with hallucinogens began with Timothy Leary and the psychedelic revolution of the fifties and sixties. In fact, as this study demonstrates, psychedelics have been used by human societies in every part of the world for ritual and spiritual purposes for millennia. The author reveals evidence - from linguistics, ethnobotany, biology and other fields - for the psychedelic experiences of various prehistoric cultures. He also argues that our modern culture is eccentric in its refusal to integrate the profound experiences offered by these natural substances into our own spiritual life and traditions.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I found this book very useful, informative and readable in my research of San rock art and the meaning of the prehistoric-imaginary on the rock face. I would rate this an important reference for students of prehistoric rock art. It gives a thorough overview of traditional uses and effects of plant hallucinogens in cultures through out the world. These drug induced hallucinations manifest in the rock art showing the archaic relationship between the earliest form of art, shamanic religion and the knowledge of plants. The author broadens our insight into this relationship by explaining the effects of hallucinations in the creation of art, ritual and myth, and correlates these studies on a global basis. He brings together studies of neuropsychological and ethnological research, ethno-botany, ethno-archaeology and spiritual concepts.
Although this work is not an empirical study, Paul Devereux succeeds in giving us a comprehensive and well-researched book on prehistoric- psychedelic. He is among the many pioneering authors that have in the last decade caused researchers to revolutionise the approaches to the meaning of prehistoric rock art.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Consciousness in the Making
11 Nov 2001
By nonlinearize
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Devereux's Trip is an essential work for those interested in human origins and development, the evolution and exploration of human consciousness, and the application and influence of natural psychotropic substances in these realms.
The Trip may be a somewhat cumbersome read for those unacquainted with anthropological discourse, because the text is often meticulously detailed, providing an account of what seems to be every conceivable snippet of evidence for the exploratory use of psychotropics throughout the long span of human prehistory. However, such detailed examination is used to establish and re-enforce the author's engaging, mind-widening insights. What others have only conjectured in this understudied field, Devereux substantiates and strengthens.
Psychotropics have had a marked influence on our spiritual traditions, philosophies and arts, and these mind-altering substances continue to play an important role in our collective experience. Here in Devereux's Long Trip is the who, what, when, where, why, and how much -- a mesmerizing tour through our ancestors' peculiar past, a photo album replete with fascinating glimpses into the universal drive and thirst for discovery, knowledge and truth.
This text, above many others, provides a compelling introductory survey of the true depth of psychotropic experimentation and exploration. Highly recommended to those already interested in psychotropic use, but especially suggested for those skeptical of the influence, value, importance and benefits such substances, curiously available in our own Grand Backyard, have the potential capacity to provide.
The Trip may be a somewhat cumbersome read for those unacquainted with anthropological discourse, because the text is often meticulously detailed, providing an account of what seems to be every conceivable snippet of evidence for the exploratory use of psychotropics throughout the long span of human prehistory. However, such detailed examination is used to establish and re-enforce the author's engaging, mind-widening insights. What others have only conjectured in this understudied field, Devereux substantiates and strengthens.
Psychotropics have had a marked influence on our spiritual traditions, philosophies and arts, and these mind-altering substances continue to play an important role in our collective experience. Here in Devereux's Long Trip is the who, what, when, where, why, and how much -- a mesmerizing tour through our ancestors' peculiar past, a photo album replete with fascinating glimpses into the universal drive and thirst for discovery, knowledge and truth.
This text, above many others, provides a compelling introductory survey of the true depth of psychotropic experimentation and exploration. Highly recommended to those already interested in psychotropic use, but especially suggested for those skeptical of the influence, value, importance and benefits such substances, curiously available in our own Grand Backyard, have the potential capacity to provide.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scholarly archaeological evidence of entheogenic human history
19 Jan 2006
By J Irvin
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Paul Devereux - The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia
1997
Contrary to some of the other reviews (Amazon), this book is well researched, well founded, backed with many sources, and was a pleasure to read. I only wish that Devereux had more recognition for his wonderful studies.
First Devereux starts us on this trip of the long history of psychedelia by giving us a glimpse of what started Devereux on his study in the first place--his college LSD experimentation.
He then gives us a well documented history of the use of entheogenic substances in indigenous cultures world wide. He further supports this already well documented evidence by giving the reader new ways of looking at prehistoric hieroglyphs and then the so-called ley lines, or ghost roads.
He closes the book with a well balanced and thoughtful proposition for how our society should go about a return of entheogens to normal society, and shows how this, in a way, is already happening.
If you're interested in the study of entheogens and shamanism, this book is a must read. 5 Star
1997
Contrary to some of the other reviews (Amazon), this book is well researched, well founded, backed with many sources, and was a pleasure to read. I only wish that Devereux had more recognition for his wonderful studies.
First Devereux starts us on this trip of the long history of psychedelia by giving us a glimpse of what started Devereux on his study in the first place--his college LSD experimentation.
He then gives us a well documented history of the use of entheogenic substances in indigenous cultures world wide. He further supports this already well documented evidence by giving the reader new ways of looking at prehistoric hieroglyphs and then the so-called ley lines, or ghost roads.
He closes the book with a well balanced and thoughtful proposition for how our society should go about a return of entheogens to normal society, and shows how this, in a way, is already happening.
If you're interested in the study of entheogens and shamanism, this book is a must read. 5 Star
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Summer Read!
30 July 1998
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Okay, Okay so this isn't up to the Kirkus Reviews' idea of good anthropology...But, for those of us who love a fun, speculative look at the human behavior it's great!! There does seem to be some inborn need to experiment with our thought processes and this book makes a strong case for an historical presidence.
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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