Beer In Mesopotamia Summary

Introduction
1 The author's main thesis used in setting up his book is that drinks, although seemingly insignificant, have played a major role in the human evolution from nomadic civilizations to agriculture-based societies. It is arguable that the drinks covered were vital to societies since they helped to cause changes to agriculture, religions, celebrations, political status, and even warfare. As the new drinks earned the place as a staple in the lives of both royalty and commoner they powered the nation.

Beer in Mesopotamia
1 Beer might have influenced the the transition of a Paleolithic society to a Neolithic society because beer slowly became very important in the everyday life. Beer was a substantial source of nutrition and was often used daily during religious ceremonies, social gatherings, and was an early source of trade for goods and services. It was soon realized beer could not be easily cultivated
This is plausible since many early civilizations grew around their religious beliefs and different cultures. Beer played a large part in many religions as offerings to the gods, and it was drunk by priests and worshipers. It was a widespread belief that beer was shared between human beings and their gods as it was depicted in many early poems and paintings. As beer came to be used more often it became a dietary staple, and since it was easy to cultivate the surplus of food allowed for people to have different jobs. Without beer, early Southwest Asia and Egypt my have not been as prosperous as easily since beer was a considerable source of payment for many important jobs including the building of the pyramids, working in the temples, or sending messages. Beer came to symbolize the civilizations prosperity because of how much of a necessity it was and how it exhibits a civilizations