Nadene Goldfoot
The Bronze Age was the time from around 2,000BCE ( 3,948 years ago), to 700BCE when people used bronze (an alloy using copper) . Abram was born 3,971 years ago, about 4,000 years ago. So he was born at the beginning of the Bronze Age according to classifying cultures by the metals they used.
In the Stone Age, flint was shaped and used as tools and weapons, but in the Bronze Age, stone was gradually replaced by bronze. Bronze was made by melting tin and copper, and mixing them together. I think that to melt metals together found within rocks took a lot of brains. It was a huge discovery and put them in a safer position.
Let's take a stroll down a lane from Abram's house where he, his father Terah and wife Sarai live. Abram will pick up his knife, as one didn't go outside without it, made of bronze. Iron hadn't been discovered as yet. Iron will come later into the hands of the Romans, which is why they will overtake the Israelites. The Chalcolithic or Copper Age is the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. It is taken to begin around the mid-
Barley was a grain used as much as wheat. Barley and wheat are both important domesticated crops belonging to the grass family. Wheat is ground into flour before use in baked goods and other foods, while barley is mostly eaten in whole grain or pearled form. Both contain gluten, making them unsuitable for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Abram lived in Mesopotamia at Ur near the Euphrates River. The food of ancient Mesopotamia relied heavily on barley. Barley could be used to make bread and brew beer. Specialty breads were made with additions of oils and fats. Mesopotamians raised and ate livestock, such as goats, cattle, pigs, and sheep. Chances are that Abram ate some goat meat and barley bread before going out.
The earliest chemically confirmed barley beer dates from between 3500 and 3100 BCE and was discovered at Godin Tepe in the Central Zagros Mountains of Iran. Tablets discovered in Syria dating back to 2500 BCE indicate that the city of Elba produced a range of beers.Tablets discovered in Syria dating back to 2500 BC indicate that the city of Elba produced a range of beers. It was quite common for female brewers to double up as priestesses and some beers were specially brewed for religious ceremonies.
Beer was very important in Ancient Egypt and its manufacture was strictly controlled; beer had a privileged role and was used as an offering to the gods. It was also prescribed to treat various illnesses. The scholar Max Nelson writes:
Fruits often naturally ferment through the actions of wild yeast and the resultant alcoholic mixtures are often sought out and enjoyed by animals. Pre-agricultural humans in various areas from the Neolithic Period on surely similarly sought out such fermenting fruits and probably even collected wild fruits in the hopes that they would have an interesting physical effect (that is, be intoxicating) if left in the open air. In fact, as early as 7000 BCE, farmers were crushing fruits with their bare feet and then leaving the fruit in containers, leading to some of civilization's earliest wines. While stepping on the fruit, microorganisms (i.e. yeast) feed on the yummy grape sugars, kicking off the fermentation process.
Our history covers the Bronze Age. Well, now we also have the Neolithic Period. The Neolithic period lasted from around 4300 BCE down to 2000 BCE, so some 6000 years before present. Neolithic means 'New Stone' and so this period is sometimes called the New Stone Age.
Clay tablets indicate that brewing was a well-respected occupation in what is now Iran more than 7,000 years ago, but it’s thought that beer was already known to the Sumerians and Babylonians some 3,000 years before that. Back then most brewers were even women. I believe their "thought" was off the mark on dating. The site known as Godin Tepe (in modern-day Iran) has provided evidence of beer brewing c. 3500 while sites excavated in Sumer suggest an even earlier date based on ceramics considered the remains of beer jugs and residue found in other ancient containers. Even so, the date of c. 4000 BCE is usually given for the creation of beer. I've read that the alcoholic level was very low, but they must have had a slight buzz.
The craft of beer brewing traveled to Egypt through trade and the Egyptians improved upon the original process, creating a lighter product that enjoyed great popularity. Although beer was known afterwards to the Greeks and Romans, it never gained the same kind of following as those cultures preferred wine and thought of beer as a "barbarian" drink. One of the many peoples they regarded as "barbarians" - the Germans - perfected the art of brewing and created what is recognized today as beer.
Most of the world's barley today is produced in Russia, followed by Germany, France and Ukraine. Notice that they have cool to cold weather. Does this mean that Ur and Egypt had colder climates to grow barley and other grains and why that was so popular ? Grain is the harvested seed of grasses such as wheat, oats, rice, and corn. Other important grains include
Hunting served man for a long period in feeding people. Farming came later after they were pretty well settled by a water source such as a river or lake. So I'm afraid that in Abram's case, they didn't have many choices of foods in their time, but they had bees who make honey, and that gave them one sweet treat.
Resource:
https://thepastisaforeignpantry.com/tag/sumerian/
https://www.newculture.com/blog/fermentation-an-ancient-process-for-yumminess
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/223/beer-in-the-ancient-world/
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