| The Zhoukoudian caves as well as another site in Thailand have the oldest known hearths recorded. Charred bones from antler, charcoal and clay-baked floors have been found indicating a marked period of evolution. (14) We cannot be sure at what stage humans first used entheogens but they certainly appear to have been intelligent enough to use fire and cook by this time but they do not appear to be using entheogens yet. Was it because they were not intelligent enough to or capable of using their intellect in that way and another version of man needed to appear or be created first? This is a possibility, I suspect. The Moon The moon was undoubtedly one of the most influential celestial bodies upon the thought of early humanity. In all likelihood, it was the synchronicity of the moon with the female menstrual cycle that was first noticed by women. Accordingly, rites were developed around the menstrual cycle which likely coincided with rituals developed for the birthing process, all centered on the lunar cycles. (15) The first engraving found in rocks and stone tools date from around 300,000 BC, supposedly the time Homo sapiens first developed (also known as the early Neanderthal period), what are called “moon-time markers.” (16) Thousands of stone and bone fragments have been unearthed dated to c. 30,000 BC, which have long and complex sequences of notches and scratches on them indicating a language or numbering system. Alexander Marshack, author of The Roots of Civilization, examined these markings under a microscope and found that the signs, which included grooves cut in various depths, widths and shapes, used a different tool at each new moon phase, as well as cuts in a new angle. A single piece of bone might record 6 months on one side and six months on the other. (17) These moon-time-sticks also appear in the hands of women and shamans in Paleolithic cave paintings from 50,000 BC. Marshack spotted one of these more modern versions in an 1828 portrait of a Winnebago Chief which was 53 inches long, with four sides, or faces; “Vertical marks are etched into it at regular intervals; above them are small crescents and dots.” Marshack has found at least five calendar sticks from three different Native American tribes. (18) A tablet discovered in an Upper Paleolithic site in Mal’ta, Siberia is said to be from 26,000 BC, and has 365 holes carved into it, the exact number of days in a year. (19) The first people thought to have done anything significant appear in what we refer to as the later Stone Age, also called the Upper Paleolithic, which began approximately 50,000 years ago. This is also when Cro-Magnon man first appeared in Europe. This is where humans began to use intelligent means of survival, hunting, community and artwork. |
Star-Fire of the Goddess Women were likely the first to master the use and art of fire. Women were conscious of the moon cycles and all of the forces of nature. Monica Sjoo, author of The Great Cosmic Mother writes: “In a survey off 224 modern tribal societies, it was found that fires were made and tended always or usually by woman in 84 societies; almost all these societies have legends telling of the early times when women were the exclusive ‘owners of fire’.” Examples of women maintaining sacred fires are found in the “Vestal Virgins” of Rome and the Irish nuns of St. Brigid who tended a perpetual fire since her church was founded at Kildare in the 5th century and destroyed in the 12th century. Kildare came to be known as the Church of the Oak due to the love St. Brigid had for the oak tree. (20) With the art of fire creation, the ability to cook foods and the ability to dry and store them was now possible, as well as the creation of clay pot ovens, and the creation of ceramics came into fashion. (21) In order to make fire, early humans needed flint or tinder. In order to heat and cook foods, of course, this was a necessity. Though, we do not know whether early humans had control over fire at this early juncture, and if they did, it was likely due to the use of friction from wood. Evidence shows that this method of fire making preceded the use of flint. Jochelson, in Wasson’s Soma, mentions in his comments, how the Koryak in Russia still rely on this method today when they have no other options, although they much prefer the use of tinder, or better yet, matches. (22) Since the Amanita muscaria grows in a symbiotic relationship with the birth, this self-awareness right there at the birch tree, was what likely led to the control and manipulation of fire by humanity in earliest times. (14) Russell, Shamanism, p.11; Oakley’s Man, the Tool Maker, 1959, cited in Washburn, Social Life of Early Man, 1961, p. 179 (15) The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth, Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor, Harper San Francisco, 1991, p.142, 143 (16) William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light, p. 118 (17) 'Woman as Innovator’ (With special reference to Mathematics, Science and Technology)", Biology and Human Affairs 40, no. 1, (London, 1974) (18) The Great Cosmic Mother, p.144-145; "Indian Calendar Stick", Science 85 6, no. 2 (March 1985); 7 (19) Mythology and Symbols: Symbols of the Mother Goddess and Fertility, Mehmet Ates, 2002, p.31; (B. Frolov, "Variations Cognitives et Creatrices dans L'Art Paleolithique" Colloque, XIV Nisan 1976. Also see "Tarih Oncesi Sembolizmin ilkeleri" Felsefe Dergisi. Sayi: 2 Yil. 1990. p. 135) (20) Monica Sjoo, who quotes author Evelyn Reed in Women's Evolution: From Matriarchal Clan to Patriarchal Family (New York: Pathfinder Press, 1975), 11-12, 19-20, 143-52. Fire survey information from C.S. Ford and F.A. Beach, Patterns of Sexual Behavior (New York, Harper and Brothers, 1951 (21) The Great Cosmic Mother, p.34-35 (22) Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, R. Gordon Wasson, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1968, p.271 |