Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages

356 Pages·2009·16.09 MB·English

by  Patrick E. McGovern

uncorking the past
This page intentionally left blank
uncorking the past
the quest for wine, beer, and other
alcoholic beverages
patrick e. m govern
c
university of california press
berkeley los angeles london
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship
in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and
institutions. For more information, visit www
.ucpress .edu .
Every effort has been made to identify the rightful
copyright holders of material not specifically
commissioned for use in this publication and to secure
permission, where applicable, for reuse of all such material.
Credit, if and as available, has been provided for all
borrowed material either on-page, on the copyright page,
or in an acknowledgment section of the book. Errors or
omissions in credit citations or failure to obtain permission
if required by copyright law have been either unavoidable
or unintentional. The author and publisher welcome any
information that would allow them to correct future
reprints.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, En gland
© 2009 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
McGovern, Patrick E.
Uncorking the past : the quest for wine, beer, and other
alcoholic beverages / Patrick E. McGovern.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn: 978- 0- 520- 25379- 7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Alcoholic beverages— History. 2. Alcoholic
beverages— Social aspects. 3. Drinking of alcoholic
beverages— History. 4. Drinking of alcoholic
beverages— Social aspects. I. Title.
GT2884.M36 2009
394.1'3—dc22 2009010512
Manufactured in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Cascades Enviro 100, a 100% post
consumer waste, recycled, de- inked fiber. FSC recycled
certified and pro cessed chlorine free. It is acid free,
Ecologo certified, and manufactured by BioGas energy.
To the innovative fermented- beverage
makers of our species
This page intentionally left blank
contents
list of illustrations
ix
preface
xi
1 / Homo Imbibens:I Drink, Therefore I Am 1
2 / Along the Banks of the Yellow River 28
3 / The Near Eastern Challenge 60
4 / Following the Silk Road 105
5 / European Bogs, Grogs, Burials, and Binges 129
6 / Sailing the Wine- Dark Mediterranean 159
7 / The Sweet, the Bitter, and the Aromatic
in the New World 198
8 / Africa Serves Up Its Meads, Wines, and Beers 231
9 / Alcoholic Beverages: Whence and Whither? 266
select bibliography
283
ac know ledg ments
297
index
301
This page intentionally left blank
illustrations
figures
1. Prehistoric wine tasting / 12
2. “Sorcerer,” Les Trois Frères grotto, French Pyrenees, ca. 13,000
years ago / 20
3. Early Neolithic “musician/shaman” burial, Jiahu (Henan
Province, China), ca. 6200–5600 b.c. / 32
4. Juzhong Zhang, excavator of Jiahu, playing early Neolithic flute
of “musician/shaman” / 34
5. Red- crowned cranes in mating dance, Manchuria / 36
6. Chateau Jiahu, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery / 45
7. Shang Dynasty “teapot” (he), tomb of Liu Jiazhuang, Anyang,
ca. 1250–1000 b.c. / 48
8. The author in his laboratory with 3,000- year- old millet wine
from tomb at Anyang / 50
9. Animals on pillar, Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, ca. 9000 b.c. / 79
10. Dancing humans and tortoise on bowl or goblet, Nevali Çori,
Turkey, ca. 8000 b.c. / 80
11. Neolithic “mother goddess” flanked by leopards, Çatal Höyük,
Turkey, ca. 6500–5500 b.c. / 88
ix