Most people who ask when psilocybin was first used expect a clean date, but the truth is a little messier. Human history stretches far beyond written records, so we have to rely on carvings, colonial reports, old rituals, and the careful work of researchers. Even so, there’s a pretty clear picture that people have been using psilocybin mushrooms for a very long time. Some of the earliest evidence points to pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica. Later records from Spanish chroniclers describe ceremonies involving mushrooms they saw as sacred. And in recent years, scientists have pieced together how long these mushrooms have been around on Earth, which adds a whole other layer to the story. Let’s walk through what we actually know.
Early Use in Mesoamerica
The strongest historical evidence comes from Indigenous groups in what is now Mexico. These cultures used psilocybin mushrooms in ceremonies for healing, divination, and spiritual guidance. According to research published in Neurología, “hallucinogenic mushrooms were consumed in ritual contexts by Mixtec, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican groups.” That line rings out because it’s one of the clearest scientific confirmations of their role in ancient life.
Archaeologists have also found carved stones shaped like mushrooms, which some researchers believe represented their ceremonial importance. You can imagine people gathering at night, guided by trained healers, using the mushrooms to connect with what they considered the spirit world.
How Far Back Could It Go?
This part gets tricky. We don’t have exact dates for the first-ever use. But cultures that used these mushrooms already existed well before Europeans arrived. That alone puts psilocybin use centuries back. Some interpretations even suggest millennia.
It’s interesting to pair that with what scientists now know about the mushrooms themselves. The Natural History Museum of Utah notes that psilocybin and the genes behind it “likely evolved about 65 million years ago.” That doesn’t mean humans used them that long ago, of course, but it reminds us these mushrooms were waiting around for someone to discover them.
The First Written Accounts
When Spanish chroniclers arrived in the early 1500s, they recorded what they saw. They described rituals using mushrooms called teonanácatl, meaning “god’s flesh.” These reports weren’t always kind or respectful, but they help confirm that psilocybin was already deeply rooted in the culture by the time outsiders showed up.
Later researchers spent years trying to match descriptions of teonanácatl to known species of psilocybin mushrooms. Modern scholarship now considers these accounts strong historical evidence of psilocybin use during the Aztec period and even earlier.
The “Rediscovery” in the 1950s
Even though psilocybin had never disappeared in some Indigenous communities, most of the world didn’t hear about it until the mid-20th century. In 1955, R. Gordon Wasson attended a mushroom ceremony in Oaxaca. His writings spread worldwide, creating massive interest in psilocybin.
One of the sources from Beckley Retreats puts it simply: “The modern understanding of psilocybin mushrooms began when ethnomycologists documented Indigenous ceremonies in the mid-1900s.” While this wasn’t the first use by any means, it marks the moment psilocybin entered global awareness.
Why This History Matters
You learn a lot about a substance by looking at how long people have used it. Psilocybin wasn’t a trend. It wasn’t invented in a lab. It grew naturally, and humans found meaning in it long before modern science ever tried to measure it. Understanding that gives some context to why people today feel drawn to explore its potential.
It also shows why researchers emphasize respect and careful guidance when studying psilocybin. These traditions were held by trained practitioners, not casual experimenters. That pattern still shapes how psilocybin therapy is designed today.
Summary
Psilocybin use goes back hundreds, likely thousands, of years. The earliest strong evidence comes from Mesoamerican cultures that used mushrooms in spiritual and healing ceremonies. Spanish chroniclers confirmed their use in the 1500s, and modern scientists rediscovered them again in the 1950s. While exact dates are impossible to pin down, the history of psilocybin is long, rich, and deeply woven into human culture.
Sources
Neurología – Hallucinogenic Drugs in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Cultures
Natural History Museum of Utah – Psychoactive Psilocybin’s Evolution in Magic Mushrooms
Beckley Retreats – The Evolution and History of Psilocybin Usage