Supernatural

Less than 50,000 years ago humans had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic change, described by scientists as 'the greatest riddle in human history', all the skills qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as tho bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Supernatural Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious before--after moment to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern mind. His quest takes him on a detective journey from the beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of S. Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the Amazon rainforest to drink the hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of 'super-natural beings' identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other dimensions. Could the supernaturals 1st depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of humankind? Could it be that human evolution isn't just the meaningless process Darwin identified, but something more purposive intelligent that we've barely begun to understand?

Acknowledgements

Part 1: Visions

1: Plant that enables men to see the dead

2: Greatest riddle of archeology

3: Vine of souls

Part 2: Caves

4: Therianthropy

5: Riddles of the caves

6: Shabby academy

7: Searching for a Rosetta Stone

8: Code in the mind

9: Serpents of the Drakensberg

10: Wounded healer

Part 3: Beings

11: Voyage into the supernatural

12: Shamans in the sky

13: Spirit love

14: Secret commonwealth

15: Here is a thing that will carry me away

16: Dancers between worlds

Part 4: Codes

17: Turning in to channel DMT

18: Amongst the machine elves

19: Ancient teachers in our DNA?

20: Hurricane in the junkyard

Part 5: Religions

21: Hidden Shamans

22: Flesh of the Gods

Part 6: Mysteries

23: Doors leading to another world

Appendices

Critics criticisms of David Lewis-Williams' Neuropsychological theory of rock cave art

Psilocybe semilanceata-a hallucinogenic mushroom native to Europe / Roy Watlng

Interview with Rick Strassman

References

Index