Messy-potamia

Enjoy a bonus second episode this week to celebrate the launch of this show! Look for a new episode to drop every two weeks going forward.

Traveling to the Middle East, in the ancient region of Mesopotamia, we find the first emerging civilizations, as well as the first appearance of alcohol in writing. To the ancient Sumerians, beer was a magical, healthful drink delivered to them by the gods. Associated with prosperity, serenity, and most of the good things in life, there is one thing we can say for certain about this foundational civilization: they loved to drink beer.

In this episode we will raise a glass to the history of Sumerian beer and learn about the ancient beer gods, as well as what it meant to drink like an Egyptian.

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Additional featured music:

“Cinematic Soundtrack - Ancient Egypt,” AntipodeanWriter

“Waves,” freesound_community

“ancient rhythm,” SamuelFJohanns

“Ukulele,” ArturAravidiMusic

“Quirky Fun Comedy,” leberchmus

“Ancient Life,” wildsound159

Sources:

Peter Damerow, “Sumerian Beer: The Origins of Brewing Technology in Ancient Mesopotamia,” Cuneiform Digital Library Journal, 2012. 

Nora McGreevy, “Ancient People May Have Sipped Beer Through These 5,500-Year-Old Drinking Straws,” Smithsonian Magazine, January 21, 2022.

Joshua J. Mark, “Beer in Ancient Egypt,” World History Encyclopedia (March 16, 2017). 

Tara Nurin, A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse (Chicago Review Press, 2021).

Tate Paulette, “Inebriation and the Early State: Beer and the Politics of Affect in Mesopotamia” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Vol. 63, September 2021.

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