Since time immemorial human lives have been deeply entangled with the lives of mushrooms. Throughout our shared history, mushrooms have been a nutritious food source, a source of medicine, a fire source, and more. In 1991, the 5,000-year-old mummy of a hunter-gatherer was found perfectly preserved in the ice atop the Italian Alps. What was this mummy carrying with him? Mushrooms, of course! One of the two varieties was a known medicinal mushroom, and the other, a fire starter.¹