Civilization Build on Beer?

Civilization Build on Beer?

Mar 23 ·
25 Min Read
History Anthropology Civilization Beer Rituals

Introduction

Brewing and the enjoyment of fermented beverages have deep roots in human history. Archaeological evidence suggests that alcohol production dates back to the dawn of civilization – and may even have helped spark it. Beer is among the oldest drinks made by humans; written records from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt speak of beer, including a 3,900-year-old Sumerian hymn to the brewing goddess Ninkasi that contains the oldest known beer recipe (History of beer - Wikipedia) (History of beer - Wikipedia). Some scholars have even proposed that the invention of beer (alongside bread) was a driving force in the development of agriculture and settled life (History of beer - Wikipedia). In this report, we explore how brewing influenced early human settlement patterns, social rituals, and political structures – from prehistoric foragers to the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Classical Greece. We will see that alcohol was more than just a drink; it was a social glue, an economic staple, a ritual offering, and possibly a catalyst for the rise of civilization itself.

Brewing and the Birth of Agriculture

Humans were brewing alcohol long before the first cities arose. Recent findings indicate that prehistoric hunter-gatherers were already fermenting grain into alcohol by the end of the last Ice Age. In Israel’s Raqefet Cave, archaeologists discovered 13,000-year-old stone mortars with residues of malted barley and wheat – evidence that a Natufian culture brewed a kind of beer in conjunction with feasting or rituals for the dead (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian) (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). The Natufians were a semi-sedentary people bridging the Paleolithic and Neolithic, and this beer (a porridge-like, low-alcohol brew) was likely used in communal ceremonies at a burial site (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). Its presence so early in prehistory lends weight to a “beer-before-bread” hypothesis – the controversial idea that an appetite for alcohol, not just hunger for bread, drove early farming. In fact, researchers note that these Natufian beer residues may predate the earliest known bread, suggesting that thirst played a pivotal role in plant domestication (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). As one science writer quipped, those alcohol-fueled gatherings might have enabled scattered foragers to bond in larger groups, “fueling the rise of civilization” (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science).

(Göbekli Tepe, Urfa.jpg - Wikimedia Commons) Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey – a Pre-Pottery Neolithic ritual site (circa 9500 BCE). Archaeologists found large stone vessels here (160 liter capacity) with traces of oxalate, a byproduct of fermentation, hinting that beer was brewed for communal feasts at this early sanctuary (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science).
Early agriculture and brewing likely evolved hand-in-hand. At Göbekli Tepe, an 11,000-year-old hilltop shrine in Turkey, archaeologists uncovered massive limestone tubs that could hold ~40 gallons, and chemical tests detected calcium oxalate (“beerstone”) on their walls (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science). This suggests that the builders of Göbekli Tepe – still technically hunter-gatherers – brewed and consumed beer during construction-era feasts. Such feasting on fermented drink would have helped coordinate large communal labor projects and foster social cohesion (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science) (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science). Indeed, one research team concluded that “production and consumption of alcoholic beverages [were] an important factor in feasts facilitating the cohesion of social groups, and in the case of Göbekli Tepe, in organizing collective work.” (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science) In other words, beer may have been a social lubricant that helped motivate and bind together the first settled communities. The idea that the “thirst” for beer spurred cereal cultivation has been debated for decades, but discoveries at sites like Raqefet and Göbekli Tepe show that brewing was occurring at the very threshold of agriculture – hinting that the desire for alcohol played a role in the human transition from nomadic life to village settlement (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian) (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science).

Beer in Early Civilizations

Mesopotamia: The Sumerian Legacy

Nowhere is the record of early brewing more robust than in Mesopotamia, the “cradle of civilization.” By the fourth millennium BCE, the Sumerians were farming barley and already expert at turning it into beer. The earliest written documents include references to beer: in Mesopotamian cuneiform, the symbol for “food” rations often included beer jugs, and a 5,000-year-old tablet from the city of Uruk shows workers were paid in beer (History of beer - Wikipedia). In fact, clay tablets indicate that ordinary laborers received beer as part of their daily wages (on the order of several liters per day), underscoring beer’s role as a nutritional staple and currency of compensation (History of beer - Wikipedia). Brewing had divine status as well – the Sumerians worshipped Ninkasi, the patron goddess of beer, and honored her with a hymn that doubles as a brewing recipe. The Hymn to Ninkasi (c. 1800 BCE) describes soaking and fermenting barley bread to produce beer, and praises the goddess “who pours out the filtered beer of the collector vat… it is like the onrush of the Tigris and Euphrates!” (History of beer - Wikipedia) (History of beer - Wikipedia). This poetic recipe reveals that Sumerian beer was unfiltered (hence drunk with straws to avoid chaff) and made from bappir (barley bread), honey, and dates. Beer was central to Mesopotamian diet and ritual – often thick like gruel, rich in nutrients, and safer than raw water (History of beer - Wikipedia). By 2100 BCE, Mesopotamia’s brewing culture was so ingrained that the Babylonian king Hammurabi included laws regulating tavern keepers in his famous law code (History of beer - Wikipedia). Women (particularly priestesses) were commonly the brewers and tavern proprietors, and some types of beer were reserved for religious ceremonies (History of beer - Wikipedia). From royal feasts to temple offerings, beer was ubiquitous in Mesopotamian social life. Even in myth, beer symbolized the civilizing of mankind – in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the wild man Enkidu is tamed after he “drank seven pitchers of beer, his heart grew light, his face glowed and he sang out with joy.” (History of beer - Wikipedia). In short, the production of beer became a hallmark of Mesopotamian civilization, integral to its economy, diet, and spiritual life.

Ancient Egypt: Bread and Beer for the Living and Dead

In ancient Egypt, beer was both everyday sustenance and sacred libation. Egyptian beer (zythum to the Greeks) was typically brewed from malted barley or emmer wheat, often flavored with dates or herbs. As in Mesopotamia, it was a dietary staple for all classes – a source of carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins. Archaeological finds show that by the time of the first pharaohs (c. 3000 BCE), Egyptians had developed large-scale brewing. In 2021, excavations at Abydos uncovered a 5,000-year-old “beer factory” from King Narmer’s era, with eight massive brewing units, each containing dozens of ceramic vats for heating grain mash (World’s oldest known beer factory may have been unearthed in Egypt | Archaeology | The Guardian) (World’s oldest known beer factory may have been unearthed in Egypt | Archaeology | The Guardian). Experts believe this installation could produce on the order of 5,000–6,000 gallons of beer at a time, likely to supply royal rituals and temple ceremonies in the early Egyptian state (World’s oldest known beer factory may have been unearthed in Egypt | Archaeology | The Guardian). This find underscores that, from its inception, the Egyptian state mobilized resources to brew beer for religious or communal purposes.

(Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre MET DT208237.jpg - Wikimedia Commons) Wooden model of a combined brewery and bakery from the Tomb of Meketre (Egypt, c. 1980 BCE). In this model, workers grind grain, mix dough, and ferment mash in tall vats – illustrating how bread and beer production were closely linked in ancient Egypt (Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art) (Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Beer in Egypt was usually brewed in tandem with bread-making, often by the same workers in the same facility. A vivid example comes from the tomb of the official Meketre (c. 1980 BCE), where a wooden model brewery-bakery was found. It shows figurines grinding grain, kneading dough, and fermenting mash in large pottery vats (Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art) (Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art). As the tomb model and texts indicate, Egyptians would partially bake barley or emmer loaves, crumble them into water, add yeast (often via air or reused starter), and let the mixture ferment in jars. The result was a thick, nutritious beer that everyone from pharaohs to peasants drank daily. During the Old Kingdom (Pyramid Age), brewery/bakery installations were part of large estates (the “House of the Beer and Bread”) that fed state workers (Feeding Pyramid Workers|AERA) (Feeding Pyramid Workers|AERA). Pyramid builders, for example, received rations of bread and beer – in fact, ancient texts and skeletal evidence show workers at Giza were provisioned with on the order of 4–5 liters of beer per day as payment (Feeding Pyramid Workers|AERA). Beer was truly the lifeblood of the workforce. It also figured in religion and myth: Egyptians offered jars of beer to gods and the dead as provisions for the afterlife. One famous story tells how the sun god Ra saved humanity from the rampaging lion-goddess Sekhmet by tricking her into drinking vats of beer dyed red to resemble blood – upon consuming the beer, the drunken Sekhmet became peaceful, thus averting humanity’s destruction (History of beer - Wikipedia). This myth was celebrated in an annual “Festival of Drunkenness,” during which Egyptians drank beer to excess in a ritual context, reflecting their belief in alcohol’s power to bridge human and divine. In daily life, beer was served in a variety of strengths (a light beer for everyday thirst and a stronger brew for banquets). From feasts in life to offerings in tombs, fermented drink was ever-present – a Middle Kingdom inscription even admonishes the dead to remember the living with a “thousand of bread, a thousand of beer” in the afterworld, underscoring that bread and beer were the twin pillars of sustenance and culture.

Indus Valley: Fermentation on the Sarasvati

Brewing likely also played a role in the Indus Valley Civilization (2600–1900 BCE) of South Asia, though direct evidence is sparser (partly because their script remains undeciphered). The people of the Indus (Harappans) grew barley, wheat, and millet, and recent findings suggest they knew how to ferment these grains. Archaeologists at the city of Harappa have uncovered large granaries and a distinctive perforated ceramic vessel that appears built for straining liquids – very likely a beer-making tool (INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION WRITING, RELIGION, BUILDINGS, LIFE AND ART | Facts and Details) (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). One such cylindrical strainer (about 20 cm tall, full of holes) was found placed inside a large jar in a Harappan tomb, as part of a set of pottery likely meant to provision the deceased (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies) (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). Researchers propose that this apparatus was used to filter mash from fermented grain – essentially to separate beer from solids (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies) (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). Jars and vats found at Indus sites could have served for brewing, though residue analyses have yet to be published (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). Ethnographic parallels and later Vedic texts hint at what Indus beer may have been like: the Rigveda mentions a drink called sura (a grain-based alcoholic beverage) and uses of fermenting vats, suggesting continuity with earlier practices. Indeed, after the decline of the urban Indus culture, the incoming Vedic tradition (by ~1300 BCE) shows a sophisticated knowledge of brewing, implying that fermentation had long been “autochthonous” in the region (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). In short, while the Indus Valley evidence is indirect, the clues – grain farming, specialized strainers, and later texts – all point to fermented drink being known and used in this earliest South Asian civilization. Just as in Mesopotamia and Egypt, beer may have oiled the wheels of Indus social life, whether in daily meals or communal rituals. As one archaeologist wryly noted, the “rule” of ancient cities is that wherever grain was surplus, a brewery likely emerged – and we have no reason to think the Indus cities were an exception (Beer-brewing in the City-States of the Indus basin (2600 to 1500 BC). - Beer Studies). Future residue analyses may yet confirm the Indus people’s beer, but even now we see that by 2000 BCE, all the great Old World civilizations had embraced fermentation.

Alcohol in Ritual and Ceremony

From the start, fermented beverages carried deep symbolic and ritual significance. Early evidence shows alcohol used not only for nutrition, but to solemnize important spiritual and communal moments. In the Natufian culture (~12,000 years ago), for example, the beer brewed at Raqefet Cave was found in a burial context, suggesting it was part of funeral rites – perhaps a special brew for honoring the dead or communing with ancestral spirits (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). Millennia later, in the first agrarian villages and temple centers, beer and wine became standard offerings to gods. Sumerian temple records from Uruk and other cities list beer among the foods presented to deities daily. Likewise, Egyptians included beer jars in tombs and temple rituals. Tomb scenes and models (like Meketre’s brewery) show that providing beer was seen as ensuring the deceased a comfortable afterlife (Model Bakery and Brewery from the Tomb of Meketre | Middle Kingdom | The Metropolitan Museum of Art) (INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION WRITING, RELIGION, BUILDINGS, LIFE AND ART | Facts and Details). This ritual dimension speaks to alcohol’s dual role: it was physical sustenance and a spiritual currency. Because brewing felt almost magical – turning grain to a bubbling tonic – ancient peoples often mythologized it. The Sumerians credited the art of brewing to Ninkasi and would recite her hymn to guarantee a good batch (History of beer - Wikipedia). In Egypt, as mentioned, a mythological bout of beer-induced ecstasy saved humanity from destruction (the Sekhmet myth), leading to celebratory rites where devotees drank themselves into a trance to imitate the goddess’s pacification (History of beer - Wikipedia). In Classical Greece, wine occupied a similar sacred space: it was intimately associated with Dionysus, god of wine and ecstasy. Festivals of Dionysus (such as the Dionysia and Bacchanalia in later Rome) encouraged participants to drink wine in excess, accompanied by music and dancing, as a form of religious release and communal catharsis.

Ritual drinking gatherings were formalized in many cultures. The Greeks developed the symposium, essentially a ritualized drinking party that combined hedonism with ceremony. A symposium began and ended with libations – ceremonial pourings of wine in honor of Zeus or Dionysus (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills). Participants reclined on couches in a special room (andron) set aside for these events, and a symposiarch (master of drink) regulated the dilution of wine and pace of drinking (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills) (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills). Though wine, not beer, was the Greek beverage of choice, the underlying social function was comparable: to bind a group together in a shared altered state, often in a context of worship (even if light-hearted). Notably, Greek symposia mixed religious ritual with secular conversation – after the initial libation, they would proceed to drink and engage in intellectual discussion, poetry, or music. In essence, the act of communal drinking was elevated to a cultural institution that reinforced religious piety (through offerings to the gods) and social bonds among the elite. Many other societies show similar intersections of alcohol and ritual: from the “prayer cups” of Mesopotamia (votive vessels for beer or wine in worship) to the sacred Soma of Vedic India (likely a psychoactive brew) which was consumed in ritual hymns. Across the ancient world, fermented beverages often served as a bridge between humans and the divine – whether used in libation sacrifices, communion ceremonies, or festivals of intoxication that were thought to please the gods. By partaking of the mind-altering drink, people believed they were sharing a gift of the gods (many myths describe alcohol as divine in origin) and entering a special, sanctified state of fellowship with the supernatural.

Feasting, Social Cohesion, and Power

Beyond formal religion, alcohol was a powerful tool for social cohesion and political strategy in early societies. The act of sharing drink in a feast helped create bonds of trust and community, a fact not lost on emerging leaders. Anthropologists theorize that “competitive feasting” – lavish banquets thrown by ambitious individuals – was a pathway to hierarchy in Neolithic times. At such feasts, beer or wine would be freely dispensed, fostering goodwill (and sometimes obligations) among guests. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu’s transformation after drinking beer (he “sang out with joy” (History of beer - Wikipedia)) symbolizes how drink could turn strangers into comrades. Archaeologically, we see that early rulers often sponsored great festivals with alcohol: for instance, tablets from the Mesopotamian city of Mari record huge quantities of beer allocated for state feasts. In Bronze Age China (though not our main focus, it’s notable), bronze vessels for rice ale were used in ceremonious feasts that helped legitimize kings. The pattern is universal. As one archaeologist put it, the first states were “heavily invested in the production and distribution of beer” (Blog Post #49: Bringing the Beers of Ancient Mesopotamia Back to Life with Tate Paulette – Peopling the Past). This was not merely to quench thirst, but because beer had political utility. It was both carrot and glue – a means to reward labor, display generosity, and bind people to the state or leader.

Nowhere is this more evident than in how early states paid and controlled their workers. In Mesopotamia and Egypt, as noted, workers on large projects were compensated in rations of grain, bread, and beer. By institutionalizing daily beer rations, authorities ensured the workforce’s loyalty and health while also inculcating a dependency on centralized supply. A recent study bluntly argued that brewing was “a cornerstone of state exploitation in the early states of Egypt and Mesopotamia”, used to cement class distinctions ( Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class: Beer, Labor and Class in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt | Archaeology of Food and Foodways ) ( Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class: Beer, Labor and Class in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt | Archaeology of Food and Foodways ). Workers who gathered each day to receive their beer were not only nourished but socially defined as subordinate subjects of the state, fostering an identity of labor in service to the elite ( Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class: Beer, Labor and Class in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt | Archaeology of Food and Foodways ). In this sense, the consistent distribution of beer helped create an early working class and reinforced elite power. At the same time, the elites themselves bonded over alcohol in more exclusive settings. For example, in Classical Greece, the symposium was a venue for political networking. Only male aristocrats (and occasional courtesans) attended symposia, and here over cups of diluted wine they would form alliances, discuss philosophy and policy, and solidify their social circle (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills) (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills). The convivial yet structured atmosphere of the symposium – with its rules, toasts, and entertainment – served to strengthen ties among the ruling class of the polis. As one source notes, “notable individuals like Pericles and Alcibiades attended symposia to discuss politics, reinforcing their social status and building important networks.” (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills) In effect, power dynamics in Athens were partly negotiated in tipsy after-dinner conversations.

(File:Symposium BM E68.jpg - Wikimedia Commons) A Greek symposium scene on a 5th-century BCE Attic vase. A reclining man (right) raises a cup while a dancing woman entertains. Such images illustrate how wine-fueled symposia were a key social institution for the Greek elite (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills) (Symposia: When ancient Greeks got drunk and argued about philosophy - History Skills).
The ability to provide alcohol at scale was a hallmark of authority. Archaeologist Tate Paulette observes that in early Mesopotamian states, holding elaborate feasts with plenty of beer was a potent political tool – a way for leaders to reward followers and display their control of resources (Blog Post #49: Bringing the Beers of Ancient Mesopotamia Back to Life with Tate Paulette – Peopling the Past) (Blog Post #49: Bringing the Beers of Ancient Mesopotamia Back to Life with Tate Paulette – Peopling the Past). From the humble village head who organized harvest festivals to kings who staged coronation banquets, alcohol played a starring role in state formation. It wasn’t only about top-down control; communal drinking also created horizontal solidarity. Soldiers shared grog before battle to boost camaraderie; villagers toasted agreements to seal pacts. The social lubrication provided by alcohol – reducing inhibitions and fostering a sense of shared identity – had real effects on cooperation. Evolutionary theorists (like Edward Slingerland in his book Drunk) argue that moderate intoxication helped groups trust each other and coordinate, solving what would later be called “collective action problems.” In the context of early civilizations, this meant that projects like raising a city wall or digging irrigation canals might be more successful if the labor was periodically punctuated by beer parties that boosted morale and group cohesion (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science) (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science).

Finally, control of alcohol could be a means of social differentiation. In many cultures, elites reserved the strongest or finest brews for themselves and religious rites, while common folk drank simpler versions. In Mesopotamia, for instance, there were different quality grades of beer (some flavored with exotic herbs) and special terms for beers used in temple versus tavern. In Iron Age Europe, the Romans noted that wine was a status symbol among “barbarian” chiefs, who would brew beer for the masses but import wine for their own symposia. Thus, who drank what – and with whom – became a way of expressing power. Yet, whether it was beer or wine, the act of sharing alcoholic drink remained a fundamental way to build social cohesion at every level of society. Feasts and drinking gatherings created what anthropologist Michael Dietler calls “group-focused consumption,” reinforcing collective identities (tribe, class, cult, etc.). It is telling that nearly every early complex society has large communal drinking vessels or halls discovered by archaeologists: from the Great Tankard of Minoan Crete to the chicha (corn beer) halls of the Andean Wari, communal intoxication has long been a part of how humans come together, celebrate, and govern.

Conclusion: Civilization – Built on Beer?

From prehistoric caves to palace banquets, brewing has been a key thread in the human story. We’ve seen that the production and consumption of alcohol influenced where and how people settled, how they worshipped, and how they organized labor and leadership. Some researchers go so far as to suggest that civilization itself was sparked by our ancient thirst. The idea may sound whimsical, but it’s backed by notable evidence and scholarship. Archaeologists Oliver Dietrich and colleagues, studying Göbekli Tepe, propose that feasting on beer helped drive the cooperation necessary for large construction projects (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science) (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science). Similarly, biomolecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern (sometimes dubbed the “beer archaeologist”) points out that grain cultivation in the Fertile Crescent may have had a dual purpose from the start: to bake bread and brew beer – with the social rewards of the latter possibly tipping the scales in favor of settled farming. The “beer-before-bread” hypothesis, first raised in the 1950s and supported by recent finds, encapsulates this notion that the joy of drink was a catalyst for domestication (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). Indeed, the discovery of Natufian beer-making now provides concrete evidence that brewing preceded full agriculture by millennia (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). As one science article mused, those ancient beer parties “may have enabled hunter-gatherers to bond with larger groups of people in newly emerging villages, fueling the rise of civilization” (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science).

Of course, civilization had many causes – but the role of alcohol should not be underestimated. Brewing required new technologies (pottery, kilns, irrigation for grain), which stimulated innovation. Surplus grain used for beer implied advanced agriculture and storage. Managing beer distribution led to administrative record-keeping (some of the earliest writing tracks beer rations (History of beer - Wikipedia) (History of beer - Wikipedia)). And the social effects – whether bringing pilgrims together at Göbekli Tepe, placating a deity in Egypt, or binding workers to a pyramid project – were significant for early state formation. Alcohol, in a sense, was a social tool as important as the plow or wheel. It provided nourishment, facilitated trade (e.g. barley for beer as a commodity), and created occasions for people to gather and share identity. The development of early political structures often went hand-in-hand with feasting traditions. A Mesopotamian ruler could bolster his legitimacy by hosting lavish beer banquets for his people (earning their loyalty), just as a Greek aristocrat solidified his status by sponsoring a symposium.

In conclusion, brewing and fermented beverages have been deeply intertwined with human development. They eased the transition from nomadic to settled life by incentivizing grain cultivation and communal gathering (Traces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel | Smithsonian). They featured in the religious and cosmic narratives of peoples, from Sumerian hymns to Greek myths. They served as wages, diplomacy, and celebration. While we often credit bread as the “staff of life,” it may be that beer and wine were equally foundational – the lubricants of social life that helped give rise to organized societies. As the Sumerians might toast, “In beer, there is joy and civilization.” The next time we raise a glass, we might recall that we are partaking in an ages-old tradition that literally helped shape the world we live in (Ancient Beer Breweries Unearthed | Neolithic Era | Live Science) ( Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class: Beer, Labor and Class in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt | Archaeology of Food and Foodways ).

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Last edited Apr 04