The Zenú and the funga: Mushroom representations in pre-Hispanic Colombia goldsmithing

Abstract

In their article “Ancient gold pectorals from Colombia: Mushroom effigies?” Richard Evans Schultes and Alec Bright gave enough reasons to assure the reader that some goldsmithing pieces exposed mostly in the Museo del Oro located in Bogotá, Colombia that are part of the objects named “Darien Pectorals”, are representations of mushrooms. This is evidence of a mushroom cult that was practiced by the inhabitants of the places where these pieces where produced and found. Some of these pieces are located in private collections and museums all over the world. Such ornaments denominated “Darien Pectorals”, were not limited to a single region. They mentioned in their article that, these ornaments are not confined to one region, although their greatest concentration seems to be in the Sinu country in northwestern Colombia, near the border with Panama's Darien Province. They are found also in the Quimbaya region of Colombia, farther south.” In another part of the article, we find the following: “Interestingly, one such "Darien pectoral" has been found as far north as Chichen Itza in Yucatan, where it undoubtedly found its way as an item of long-distance trade, along with other lower Central American and Colombian gold artifacts.” The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ethnomycological knowledge of Colombia, continuing what was proposed by Schultes and Bright, reinforcing their ideas with new evidence based on specialized bibliography and regular visits to the Museo del Oro in Bogotá to the Zenú Collection with the purpose of analyzing the pieces and finding indications that may suggest the possible use of hallucinogenic mushrooms by the indigenous culture of pre-Hispanic Colombia.