The Ancient Maya seem to have used substances that altered the individual's normal state of consciousness, almost certainly as part of divinatory ritual. Thus the ingestion of narcotics, hallucinogens, and other psychotropic substances was seen as a way to transform existence and to meet or communicate with unseen powers. The Maya area includes the natural habitats for several mushroom species containing hallucinogens. Stone figures of mushrooms are found in the southern Maya area as early as the Late Preclassic era.
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