Then (1998), The Cosmic Serpent
DNA and Shamanic Vision: Narby's Hypothesis
Shamans access information at the molecular level, specifically DNA, through ayahuasca visions. The twin-serpent imagery universal in shamanic traditions represents the double helix. Biophoton emission from DNA may be the physical mechanism.
contested
The biophoton emission hypothesis remains unstested in relation to shamanic vision. The ayahuasca pharmacology is now well-characterized (DMT + MAO inhibitors) but the information channel Narby proposed, from DNA to shamanic knowledge, has not been confirmed or falsified. The data point that strongest supports the general hypothesis is the Kekule-benzene-Ouroboros parallel: a Western chemist solved a molecular structure after a serpent dream. This is anecdotal. The broader argument, that indigenous plant knowledge is reliably accurate despite lacking Western methodology, is well-supported; the mechanism Narby proposes for how is not.
Sources
- Narby, The Cosmic Serpent (1998)
- Winkelman, Curr. Anthropol. (2010) [Source not found; under review]
- Poinar et al., Plant Biol. (2001) [Source not found; under review]