Outside Reader Activity Beer: From the start, it seems that beer had an important function as a social drink…when drinking alcohol in a social setting, the clinking of glasses symbolically reunites the glasses into single vessel of shared liquid. Relevance: It shows that getting together and drinking was a social aspect in the stone ages and that the traditions go back that far; drinking was socially and ritually important. (pg.18) …beer drinking was just one of the factors that helped to tip the balance away from hunting and gathering to farming... Relevance: This shows that during the hunting and gathering time’s beer was one of the factors that assisted in the transition to farming and it was because it was a high source of vitamin B, so they didn’t have to consume meat. (pg.21) Mesopotamians and Egyptians alike saw beer as an ancient, god given drink that underpinned their existence.. Relevance: This refers to that the beer was also used in the religious aspect and it was in the myths and legends, and it gave them a cultural identity. It was related to the Egyptian gods. (pg. 26-29) The earliest written documents are for Sumerian wage lists and tax receipts, in which the symbol for beer is one of the most common words… Relevance: This refers to that Sumerian writing was invented for many reasons, and beer was one of them. Writing was originally invented to record the storage of beer and other products. The priests had paid for the maintenance by handing out rations of beer and bread. (pg. 30-31) …beer, were convenient and widespread forms of payment and currency…the use of bread and beer as wages meant that they became synonymous with prosperity and well-being. Relevance: This shows that beer was used as payments during this time in Egypt and Mesopotamia. That the use of beer as wages showed prosperity and wealth and that it meant they were civilized.
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