Name:

Professor:

Course:

Date:

The Ancient History of Alcohol: A Review

Consumption of alcohol by human beings dates back to 10 million years ago, even

though what was considered alcohol in the times would be slightly different from the modern

brewed beer of our times in 2021. Alcohol was throughout history and continues to impact many

cultures and civilizations. Historical records highlight the Egyptians, Romans, British Greeks,

Sumerians, and Chinese as most notable in ancient times (Warren 270). Beer recipes in ancient

times were recorded on tablets. Past alcohol prohibition in the United States has influenced the

current modern rates of alcoholism, as alcohol consumption either brings people together or tears

them apart. The paper reviews the ancient history of alcohol by comparing and critiquing the

articles on the same topic.

The authors Anderson et al. (388) underscores the valuable role of alcohol for millennia

in positively and negatively providing health and food security, with notable changes in

consumption patterns over the years. They explain that the consumption of alcoholic drinks such

as spirits, beer, and wine have been altered within the past two centuries, just as their industrial

organization and production technologies have changed. According to the authors, the changes in

alcohol use and consumption over the years can be attributed to globalization and economic

growth. According to Anderson et al., the industrial revolution was a major contributor to
excessive alcohol consumption, which led to cost reduction as alcohol industries, especially in

brewing, increased in concentration (389). In addition, the rise of craft producers has further

altered the homogenization and the concentration of alcohol firms, with governments extensively

intervening in the use and consumption of alcohol through increasing taxes, ensuring

competition, and protecting domestic industries. Anderson et al. (388) considerably explain the

ancient alcohol uses, noting their major uses, especially during the industrial revolution.

The historical pain involved in surgery in the 19th century was a significant determinant

of using alcohol as an aesthetic. As Professor Chavda recounts, in those days, no anesthetics

existed as only a few operations were carried out. The people, seeing how intolerable the surgical

operations pain was if not controlled, determined to eliminate and control the pain. With the

Chinese coming up with acupuncture, The Romans and Greeks opted to use alcohol to cleanse

the body and encouraged the patients to undergo surgery to drink alcohol into oblivion (Chavda

67). The aco0hol was consumed to alleviate the stage of analgesia by administering the alcoholic

preparation known as Tikshna Madhya (Chavda 72). Moreover, preoperative food administration

was advised to overcome the overdose of alcohol preparation and handling complications such as

blood loss or electrolyte imbalance. Preoperative alcohol was used as an anesthetic for its

efficient way and potency in absorption, metabolism, and elimination of pain effects. Even

though Chavda shed light on the ancient history of alcohol, they focus on alcohol as a leisure

means and food without providing the reader with other essential information, such as the

ancient making processes and effects of alcohol on ancient humans.

The human ancestors leverage their ability to break down alcohol to rot and ferment fruits

on forest floors. The situation of alcohol in ancient times is also similar to the consumption of

fat, sugar, and salt that has a resemblance in evolutionary history. According to (Khaderi 09),
alcohol was found in rotting fruits, fuel, and liquor. The author further notes scientists' findings

that are breaking down of alcohol evolved over the years and was facilitated by a gene mutation

in humans that was further fueled by changes in terrestrial lifestyles. The ability of ancient

humans to consume alcohol was a key contributor to their ability to dine from rotting and

fermenting fruit on the forest floor whenever food was scarce. Since liquor was made from

natural products such as rotting fruits, the humans did have the option of either consuming fresh

fruits or ethanol, and the latter was a second choice even though they could consume and digest

both (Khaderi 07). Similarly, Zhao et al. (1201) resonate with Khaderi’s state that ancient

humans benefited from alcohol consumption in small quantities, and alcohol was naturally made

from rooting fruits through fermenting natural food products. The findings seem to agree with

the modern-day scenario where drinking in moderation comes with benefits. At the same time,

excessive alcohol consumption poses health risks such as heart diseases, mental health problems,

and liver disease, attributed to changes in genes to process ethanol efficiently. Similarly, Choi

(12) notes that the evolution in alcohol consumption was premised on the thought that ethanol

only entered the human diet at the period when humans had extra food stored, especially after the

advent of agriculture with humans getting more intentional and direct on fermentation close to

9000 years ago. Comparing the ancient preparation and alcohol use, alcohol could be considered

a disease since the human genome never had sufficient adaption time for a drink, a sentiment

also shared by Xiao (04).

The author, McHugh (22) notes the alcohol, maireya used in ancient South Asia and the

relationship of the involvement of the Buddhist law on alcohol. Maireya had natural and cultural

significance to the people of South Asia, which made it prominent for several centuries BCE as it

maintained a high profile up to the early first millennium C.E. (McIntyre 40). The alcohol,
maireya, was made using an innately flexible formula with secondary fermentation. The drink

was presented as a drink with social distinction with its flexibility based on sugars. As an ideal

drink, maireya was paired with another cereal-based drink called sura, which was also

recognized within the Buddhist law and reflected the theories and tastes of the early periods. The

findings resonate with works of other authors that date back the consumption of alcohol to 80

million years ago when humans consumed rotting fermented fruits rich in ethanol (Zhao et al.

1115). The attraction of humans to liquor is said to have become problematic when modern

humans started fermenting food intentionally, causing it to generate more ethanol far more than

found naturally.

Archeological records on ancient drinks are rare even though they are critical reflections

of the realms of ancient life that were hidden a long time in the past. An inquiry and analysis of

detailed stories on ancient celebrations, feasts, and rituals reflect a pattern of events and

ceremonies in which people consumed alcohol. The oldest alcoholic drinks are said to have

originated in Henan province, China, around c. 7000- 6500 BC, even though it is unknown when

the term ‘alcohol was first used (Zhao et al. 1110). The choice of ancient humans of alcohol as

tasty and the making process of the first alcoholic drink is also unknown. The alcohol drink in

the ancient ties was made of grapes, Hawthorn berries, rice, and honey.

In the ancient Middle East, humans began making barley beer from circa 6000 BC as

excavated in Georgia with further archaeological evidence of alcohol for the ancient culture for

people that lived near Tigris rivers and Euphrates dating back to 7000 BC. In ancient Egypt,

alcohol was the second most favorite drink after water and as a source of liquid which was so

popular that even children drank the alcohol (Retson et al. 72). As archeological evidence

suggests, alcohol was also used as medication in Sumerian, Egypt, with the increased beer
production in the earliest days of Egyptian civilization. The use of alcohol as medicine is also

reflected in ancient Egyptian culture texts that recommend alcohol for persons suffering from

depression.

The Greeks and the Romans used alcohol in ancient times as means of celebration. The

European tradition of drinking emanates from these eras, especially in the Classical Greece

territory when people drank alcohol during breakfast. In those days, everyone took wine in

ancient Greece. The evidence is further corroborated by the critique of famous philosophers such

as Plato and Aristotle, who criticized people of the time for drinking too much alcohol. The

Romans are known to have produced wine only once they had conquered lands and had been

well established., their consumption of alcohol or wine drinking was learned from the Greeks

and Etruscans. The Speyer wine bottle, discovered in Germany in 1867, is s a notable example of

locally produced wine that has since been kept close as no one dares to open it (Warren 52). The

wine bottle displayed at the Pfalz Historical Museum is for more than a century now reflects the

uniqueness in the production and packaging of alcohol in ancient times within different cultures

and places across the globe.

Alcohol since ancient times originates from the natural world even though it becomes

artificial later in the process. In ancient times, alcohol consumption was closely related to social

life, with its consumption reserved for special and celebratory occasions that involved groups of

people dining and making merry together (McHugh 92). It seems the practice has been

propagated to modern times. People still consider taking or drinking alcohol as a social endeavor

bringing people together to drink and enjoy together in groups. Indeed, just like in the ancient

days when people who drank alcohol did not care about their differences with people they shared

alcohol with, it remains an integral part of modern culture in many societies. In ancient times
spart8iculary in China, alcohol gained popularity through the existent philosophy of governing.

Some of the chine rulers prohibited the consumption of alcohol for its adverse effects. The other

authors, Retson et al. (89), also agree that alcohol was a major catalyst of irrational choices.

Alcohol was considered a double-edged sword that led to its consumer committing acts that were

otherwise unacceptable in ancient societies, such as the use of abusive language.

Alcoholic beverages were a crucial part of rituals in ancient times. According to Wang et

al. (260), alcoholic beverages were essential during rituals such as burials during which beer was

consumed, especially in Holocene Southern China. However, archaeological investigations by

Choi (10) contradict the findings of Wang and the team on the use of alcohol during rituals.

Instead of consumption during rituals, Choi found that alcohol was used for appeasing ancestors

by pouring it into the ground during ceremonies such as circumcision and marriages. Human

burial mounds of ancient times contained pots that had beer, mainly made from rice. The

evidence reveals the consumption of alcohol in Southern China and the saccharification-

fermentation process used for beer making. At Qiaotou, beer was used to commemorate rituals at

the burial of the dead and was used to maintain social relationships. The burial rituals involving

beer drinking gave rise to complex farming four millennia later.

The ancient Egyptians similarly brewed beer and wine as the archaeological findings

indicate alcoholic brew from oats and barley. The ancient Chinese had their wine made from

grapes and rice, Mayans made their alcohol and pulque from fermented corn, while the Celts

made theirs from mead. The Mongols had their alcohol, kumis made from fermented mare milk.

Notably, the ancient Greeks considered wine a pillar of civilization, with the Greek Teetotalers

of the time viewed it with suspicion. The Greeks at the time believed that water drinking made

people curmudgeonly, surly, and over-earnest, while wine made them creative, passionate,
convivial, and fond of the intellectual discourse. In ancient Rome and Greece, alcohol and wine

were particularly taken during drinking parties, and the practice of toasting was considered a

duty. Drinking in these two regions was so rampant that it even became a game requiring

everyone to drink wine at every meal (Warren 117).

Alcohol is said to have been a significant driving force of early societal development. In

1877, the archaeologist James Death proposed that beer was invented before bread (Chavda 30).

The implication is that the advent of beer and alcohol could be one of the reasons ancient

humans settled down to an agricultural lifestyle such as producing wheat for beer. The narrative

is further propagated by (Komar 98), who notes the earliest recipe of the world as making beer

rather than food. Ancient beer was different from the present-day one, and Sumerians drank it

through a straw to filter out more significant pieces. Even though this could be considered

distasteful in the modern era, it was considered very nutritious and an essential source of

calories. Beer was a staple for most ancient cultures consumed by both adults and children

throughout the day in most parts of the world, such as England between 1001-1500 A.D. (Xiao

122). Wine came on stage a little later, and even during its inception, it was considered a reserve

for the upper class who only could afford the luxury. But, on the contrary, ancient Greece had the

wine that consumed all people, rich-poor, young and old, as drinking was considered a civic duty

with wine distributed freely at feasts.

Conclusion
Alcohol has always been part of daily life for humans, even though many of the 9oldesets

recipes and manufacturing or making formulas remain a secret. Notably, most ancient wines

have massive quantities of olive oil. Today more than ever, the new technologies have allowed

researchers to get all the information on ancient humans, and some people even attempt to try
making alcohol using traditional methods. Alcoholic beverages undoubtedly played a vital role

in ancient times, especially in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China. Alcohol production,

especially beer and wine, was a primary industry in these ancient times of the historical period.

Its consumption was important for many reasons, such as rituals, relationships, appeasing gods,

leisure, sustenance, and pleasure. In addition, the ancient humans enjoyed drinking alcohol in

social settings, and most even drank to points or inebriation without fear or considered improper

etiquette.
 Works Cited
Chavda, Dipsinh. "Alcohol: A potent ancient aesthetic." Journal of Ayurveda and Holistic

Medicine (JAHM) 6(6) (2018): 388.http://jahm.co.in/index.php/jahm/article/view/25.

Choi, Charles, Q. "Origins of Human Alcohol Consumption Revealed." Live Science, December,

1 (2014): 1-17.

Khadi, Saira Aijaz. "Introduction: Alcohol and Alcoholism." Clinics in liver disease, 23(1)

(2019): 1-10.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2018.09.009.

Komar, Paulina. "Wine taboo regarding women in archaic Rome, origins or Italian viticulture

and the taste of ancient wines." Greece & Rome 68(2) (2021): 239-254.

Matthee, Rudi. "Alcohol in the Islamic Middle East: ambivalence and ambiguity." Past &

Present, 222(suppl_9) (2014): 100-125.https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtt031.

McHugh, James. "Theorizing Alcoholic Drinks in Ancient India: The Complex Case of

Maitreya." The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, 35(1) (2021): 115-

136.https://doi.org/10.1086/712740.

McIntyre, Julie. "Inventing wine: a new history of one of the world's most ancient pleasures."

(2015): https://doi.org/10.1080/09571264.2015.1042965.

Reston, T. A, R. C. Sterling, and E. J. Van Bockstaele. "Alcohol-induced dysregulation of stress-

related circuitry: the search for novel targets and implications for interventions across the

sexes." Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 65 (2016):

252-259.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.05.009.

Wang, Jiajing, Leping Jiang and Hanlong Sun. "Early evidence for beer drinking in a 9000-year-

old platform mound in southern China." PloS one, 16(8) (2021):

e0255833.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255833.
Warren, Kenneth R. " A review of the history of attitudes toward drinking in pregnancy."

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(7) (2015): 1110-

1117.https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12757.

Xiao, L. I. "Alcohol and Drinking in Ancient China." Journal of Harbin University, 04 (2014):

https://doi.org/10.1080/09571264.2015.1042965.

Zhao, Yaqiu, ao Duan Jin and Luqi Huang. "Reflections on the comparison of “Taisui” in

ancient and modern times." Chinese Science Bulletin, 63(13) (2018): 1199-1204.