Scientists Tel Aviv University argue that the ancient people who created the cave drawings were entered into an altered state of consciousness and hallucinated due to lack of oxygen deep underground. It is reported by Edition The Independent.
Study explains why archaeologists often find mysterious rock painting deep in European cave systems, where daylight does not penetrate. According to experts, the ancient artists deliberately searched for the most remote places (sometimes more than a kilometer from the entrance), where the burning of torches reduced the oxygen concentration in the air and caused hypoxia. It also provoked hallucinations and euphoric experiences accompanied by an illusion of body exit.
People themselves tied their fortune with supernatural forces, spirits or deities, so the caves and drawings created by them were considered sacred.
Earlier it was reported that scientists of the University of Central Lancashir in the UK found out that the ancient people expressed their hallucinogenic experience through the rock paintings. This was pointed to the detected images of the plant of Datura Datura Wrightii, which was historically used during ceremonial rites as a hallucinogen.