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Kava drinking and its role in cultural evolution

Did the consumption of the mind-altering beverage kava facilitate the emergence of complex, hierarchical societies in Oceania?

Scholars have long debated whether our desire to get drunk and high is evolutionarily adaptive or maladaptive. Based on the ancient and widespread human use of psychoactive substances, some argue that intoxication has played an important role in our cultural evolution. By promoting social bonding, increasing cooperation, and enhancing creativity, intoxication has been claimed to facilitate the emergence of large-scale complex societies. 

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© Tihomir Rangelov