New findings confirm that Bronze Age Babylonians really loved beer

[Judi Lynn]

03 SEPTEMBER 2018

Chemical analyses finds Mesopotamian brewing was widespread, and quaffing styles were more varied than thought. Andrew Masterson reports.



A clay tablet from Iraq, around 2500 BCE, showing people drinking beer from a single vessel, using straws.

COURTESY OF THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO


The ancient Mesopotamians really didn’t mind a beer, new chemical analysis has shown.

Many Bronze Age textual and pictorial sources attest to the consumption of beer in Mesopotamia – the oft-described “cradle of civilisation” between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East – from as early as 4000 BCE.

References deciphered from third millennium BCE cuneiform texts show that the Mesopotamians were as sophisticated in their tastes as today’s hipster craft-brew fans, choosing between several different types, including golden beer, sweet dark beer and red beer.

Unambiguous chemical and archaeological evidence, however, has remained scarce. The identification of building remains as breweries, large vats as beer-making pots, and bowls as drinking vessels have been based mostly – say a team of archaeologists led by Elsa Perruchini from the University of Glasgow in Scotland – on “educated guesswork”.

More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/new-findings-confirm-that-bronze-age-babylonians-really-loved-beer