Hi guys and welcome again to my blog. In my last post for the stemsocial community I spoke about the introduction of biotechnology. I talked about what biotechnology is, it’s types and a few others. If you missed it you can read it here if you’re interested.
I would today want to talk about one of the Ancient biotechnology. This one has got to do with the very first beer or at least what has been documented to be the first beer.
The Sumerian beer is believed to be the first beer ever to be produced. Well at least until not very long ago some scientists have tried to debunk this by saying there’s no real proof of measuring if the Sumerian beer even contained alcohol. But for now it still holds the Sumerian beer is the first alcoholic beverage to be made which went on to play at important role in the lives of Sumerians.
Beer is basically an alcoholic beverage produced from the fermentation of cereals like barley and wheat. Beer is known to be the first alcoholic drink and a very popular alcoholic beverage till date. Perhaps it’s even the most consumed alcoholic beverage.
From biotechnology we know that ancient biotechnology was produced by accident when food products left to stand went through the fermentation process. This fermentation process plays an important role in the brewing of beer.
This beer that was produced has no proof of a process being documented and so I wouldn’t be able to talk about how the beer was produced. However, this Sumerian beer later went on to play a big role in the growth of the economy of the Sumerians.
First of all the Sumerian beer is vital in the story of how Sumeria came into existence. It is believed that the deity of Sumeria tried to increase the glory of Sumeria and before it could be done, the laws had to be obtained from the “god of Enki”. It’s believed that this deity of Sumeria went for the laws after consuming the beer and was so dunk that when he woke up in the morning he couldn’t find the laws. This is believed to be the reason man is filled with flaws.
The Sumerian beer was used as a form of currency. The people of Sumeria started trading the beer they had for other items they didn’t have. Some traded beer for stones of high value and others did for metals just to mention a few. It is believed that laborers would receive about 1.7 liters of beer as pay for one day’s work. These laborers were believed to be of lower class and so persons of higher class for their work would revive about 8.5 liters of beer.
The Sumerian beer also marked a changed for the role of women in Sumeria. Before the discovery go beer, women were sold into prostitution to make money but since the beer was introduced, it changed the course of their lives and they were tasked with the brewing of the beer.
The Sumerian beer contained a lot of nutritional value. It contained high levels of protein and little fat. We know how valuable it is for us to consume food with proteins.
The Sumerian beer contained flavoring agents. Some of these were coriander, dates, grape pips and a whole lot. These flavors made the beer very thick and with low alcohol content.
The Sumerian beer promoted the growth of yeast bacteria cells. I’ve already stated a few times how important fermentation was and this fermentation was responsible for the growth of the yeast bacteria cells. These yeast cells are high in lysine and vitamin B. Calcium is responsible for the growth of strong bones and teeth and lysine which these yeast cells contain helps the body absorb calcium.
These are just a few benefits of the Sumerian beer for the Sumerian people and the role it played in their culture.
Thank you.
References for further reading;
https://amp.dw.com/en/were-the-ancient-sumerians-the-worlds-first-brewers/a-15678894
