I wish you good health, peace, and happiness this winter season in the company of those you love. With the birth of a grandbaby, my husband and I have so much to celebrate and lots to look forward to in the new year. I hope you’re also finding joys, small or large.
Holiday Beer History
Here’s a bit of entertaining history appropriate for holiday parties. They’ve found evidence of some very early celebrations with beer. The analysis of grain and other food residues has gotten so precise these days. It’s amazing what archaeologists can conclude.
I enjoyed reading about Chalcolithic beer drinking in the Jordan Valley around 5,000 years ago. Apparently, earlier finds showed limited ritual use, but this time they feel they’ve got indications of a scale that implies social celebrating.
Later on in history, from about 3,000 years ago, there’s abundant evidence of beer brewing and consuming as an everyday activity in the Bronze Age world of the Hittites and elsewhere in the ancient Middle East. It’s tracking the beginnings that’s trickier. For the Bronze Age Hittites, I particularly like the stone reliefs that show what looks like drinking from communally shared giant cups with long straws. One theory on Hittite straws is that they may have been a way to filter out the bits of grain as you enjoyed your drink. Fun theories are, of course, welcome in the comments.