How Did Beer Changed The World

Humans have been around since the beginning of time, but for a while they achieved absolutely nothing. Any accomplishments they have made in the past were about 10,000 years or so ago. The kick start for the age for creativity and inventions was the coming up of beer which changed the world forever.
Beer was popular from the beginning and was founded on surplus cereal production which was most likely brewed. As you all know beer was first made in the Fertile Crescent and was created around 10,000-4,000 B.C. It was known as the agricultural revolution so it was marked as a change from hunting and gathering to agriculture. It was also a major reason to develop grains, which allowed an increase in the population and enabled more organized societies. Seeing that the people began to stay in one place and small societies began to form, it paved the way for the start of civilization. These people thrived to grow more grain and barley in other to make more beer. During this time the ancient Sumerians built city states in the area and began fermenting beer from barely (bread) or grain. “Once beer had been discovered, and its consumption had become socially and ritually important, there was

a greater desire to ensure the availability of grain is deliberate farming, rather than relying on wild grains” (page 21).
In the Mesopotamia, the pictography shows two people drinking beer from a pottery jar with a straw.

Beer was a thick porridge-like drink consumed through a straw. In both Egypt and Mesopotamia, beer could not be taken without a meal. Everything they ate, they had to drink beer with it. It was also widely consumed by everyone, rich and poor, men and women, adults and children, from the top of the social pyramid to the bottom. “Beer had an important function as a social drink…sharing a drink with someone is a universal symbol of hospitality and friendship. It singles that the person offering the drink can be trusted, by demonstrating that it is not poisoned or otherwise unsuitable for consumption.” (Page 18) Throughout this time period beer brought people together through the

gatherings.
Beer led to more creations like the plough, mathematics, the wheel, and even writing. Beer was also used to make medicine and the oldest known record was a Sumerian cuneiform table which shows the recipe for beer being used for medical purpose. Beer provided a way for people to be kept healthy and strong because they are given the treatment they need. In the writings it shows written stories by Sumerians that explained the importance of beer in their society. It was also important to Mesopotamia and Egypt because it was used to pay wages. The beer was used to pay the workers who built the Egyptian pyramids. Beer has grown from being a simple drink to being a part of the culture and also a part of the economy. Records say the ratio was 4 loaves of bread to 8 pints of beer.
“When people started agriculture the first crop they produced was barley or wheat. You consume those crops as bread and as beer. It’s the drink associated with the dawn of civilization.” Standage noted. In conclusion beer was the turning point of the world because it started the creation of other materials and it allowed for people to settle in one place.