Israel's beer from 7,000 years ago

 Israel's beer from 7,000 years ago

When did social beer drinking begin? There are traces of its ritual and religious use 14,000 years ago. But the first vestige of its social consumption is more recent. That's what they found when they studied beer from Israel 7,000 years ago.

Fermented barley

The trace was found in the area of Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley. It is known that beer was a beverage used in ancient times in religious ceremonies and rituals. But this finding confirms its use as a social drink in the Levant region. And it was before the spread of alcohol in the Bronze Age (approx. in 3,300 BC).

Researchers at the University of Haifa found traces of starch in wheat and barley grains in ancient pottery. Under the microscope, they observed that it showed signs of fermentation. There was no doubt about it: it was used in the production of alcohol.

One of the researchers, Danny Rosenberg, noted that Tel Tsaf was known to be a prosperous place. "Its prosperity was manifested in the accumulation of agricultural products. Above all, cereals, in very large quantities," he detailed. He added that it is easy to imagine them holding large-scale events, eating and drinking in a social context. Beer was no longer limited to the ceremonial sphere.

Developing society

The Tel Tsaf community is the only known community in the region that can be dated to the Chalcolithic Era. It was a period of transition from small, agrarian societies to larger societies. These built more complex and larger cities.

That is why this theory fits. It is part of the development and revolution of the time. A beverage considered a luxury became widespread. It was no longer exclusive to certain classes. Several barriers were being broken, something difficult in more immobile societies. The beer of Israel 7,000 years ago was beginning to democratize its consumption.

Alcohol played an important role in the evolution of human beings from the beginning of our times. Sitting around the fire sharing food and drink is still pleasurable.

A theory by Mark Forsyth in A Short History of Drunkenness goes further. He says that we didn't start growing because we needed food (there was plenty of food around). Rather, he proposes that we started planting because we wanted to get intoxicated with alcohol. Cheers!