Some 13,000 year honest-to-god ago , deep in a cave in present - twenty-four hour period Israeli , a group of huntsman - gatherers got very jolly on some slyness - brew beer .
archeologist from Stanford University have recently been dig up the Raqefet Cave and stumbled across a prehistoric brewery that they conceive is the world ’s oldest record of human - made alcoholic beverage , as reported in theJournal of Archaeological Science : paper .
Humans have obviously always had their precedency straight ; the discovery means that the great unwashed were brew beer before they were pull in dough . In fact , this new uncovering back up a 60 - class - old hypothesis that the underlying motivation to cultivate cereals was actually to make hard liquor , not food .
“ This accounts for the oldest record of gentleman’s gentleman - made alcoholic beverage in the man , ” contribute researcher Li Liu , a professor of Chinese archaeology at Stanford , say in astatement .
It ’s believed that the beer was brew by the Natufian people , a grouping of huntsman - gatherers in the eastern Mediterranean , at some point between 11,700 and 13,700 years ago . The earliest evidence of bread - making engagement to between 11,600 - 14,600 to year ago , so there ’s a chance that this beer is indeed the oldest example of processing cereals .
However , it ’s unlikely the beer was used for partying purposes . The Raqefet Cave was a sanctified graveyard for the Natufian people , as shown by the land site ’s numerous skeletal remain , some of whom were apparently buried on abed of colorful and redolent flower . In brightness of this , the researchers believe that beer play an authoritative spiritual role in the adoration of their utter .
“ Beer making was an integral part of ritual and banqueting , a social regulatory mechanics in hierarchal societies , ” explicate study co - author Jiajing Wang .
“ This find indicate that make inebriant was not necessarily a resolution of agricultural surplus production , but it was developed for ritual design and ghostly needs , at least to some extent , prior to factory farm , ” Liu added .
While attempting to investigate what plant nutrient people may have devour at the time , the researchers came across evidence of beer - devising on a serial of stones found in the cave . Residue analyses of the stone blocks picture that they had microscopical trace of amylum and plant particles known as phytolith , a sure foretoken of turning barleycorn into booze .
Using other grounds , such as ancient Chinese brewing , the researchers then carry out a serial of “ experiments ” to recreate the prehistorical brew . First , the starch of pale yellow or barley would be turn into malt by pullulate the grains in H2O . This would be drained and dried out . Then , the malt would be philander and heated . eventually , this slurry would be ferment using wild barm .
No offense to the Natufians , but their ancient beer actually fathom fairly gross . The research worker explain that the ancient beer would have been nothing like the beer of today ; it was fundamentally a thin porridge - similar gruel that moderate alcoholic beverage . Mmmmm , refreshing .
