Life 4,000 Years Ago In Our All- Organic World

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

         One of the Alaca Höyük bronze standards from a pre-Hittite tomb dating to the third millennium BCE, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey.  Hittites were a people connected to Canaanites.  Abraham bought his cave from a Hittite at Machpelah and Esau took Hittite wives.  They were one of the 7 different peoples from whom the Israelites conquered Canaan.  A standard was   a pennant, flag, or banner, suspended or attached to a staff or pole, which identified the group carrying it.  

    Living in caves, being surrounded by rocks, trying them out to use; rocks are the ore and copper is inside them.  So is gold.    

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.                                         

Workshop of an armorer during the Bronze Age.  Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals and sometimes non-metals.  The earliest definite date usually assigned to true bronze casting is about 2500 B.C., i.e. 700 years or more after copper is known to have been in use; nevertheless numerous analyses show that copper artifacts of around 3000 B.C. sometimes contain small and variable percentages of tin.  Of the identified copper that has yet to be taken out of the ground, about 65% is found in just five countries on Earth -- Chile, Australia, Peru, Mexico, and the United States.

Lake Van, in present-day Armenia, was the most likely source of copper ore for Mesopotamian metalsmiths, who used the metal to produce pots, trays, saucers, and drinking vessels

In Egypt, the use of copper was developing around the same period, although there is nothing to suggest any direct knowledge transfer between the two civilizations. Copper tubes for conveying water were used in the Temple of King Sa'Hu-Re in Abusir that was built around 2750 BCE. These tubes were produced from thin copper sheets to a diameter of 2.95 inches, while the pipeline was nearly 328 feet in length.

The Egyptians also used copper and bronze for mirrors, razors, instruments, weights, and balances, as well as the obelisks and adornments on temples.  

According to biblical references, massive bronze pillars, measuring 6 feet in diameter and 25 feet tall once stood on the porch of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem (circa ninth century BCE). The interior of the temple, meanwhile, is recorded as containing the so-called Brazen Sea, a 16,000-gallon bronze tank held aloft by 12 cast bronze bulls. New research suggests that copper for use in King Solomon's temple could have come from Khirbat en-Nahas in modern-day Jordan.

Sandstone cliffs in Timna Valley featuring King Solomon’s Pillars. (Image by Little Savage, Wikimedia Commons.)

Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley. (Image by שומבלע, Wikimedia Commons.) “This impressive operation is known to the public as 'King Solomon's Mines,' and today we know that copper production actually peaked here at about the time of Kings David and Solomon.

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-5th millennium BC, and ends with the beginning of the Bronze Age proper, in the late 4th to 3rd millennium BC, depending on the region.                                

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.

Egyptian barley bread:  Ingredients

• 1 Egg
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 2 cups Barley flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Shortening

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. 

                        Mesopotamian Beer Rations Tablet

Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright)

The people of 

ancient Mesopotamia enjoyed beer so much that it was a daily 

dietary staple. Paintings, poems, and myths depict both 

human beings and their gods enjoying beer which was 

consumed through a straw to filter out pieces of bread or 

herbs in the drink. The brew was thick, of the consistency of 

modern-day porridge, and the straw was invented by the 

Sumerians or the Babylonians, it is thought, specifically for the 

purpose of drinking beer.

 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.                        

                          Field of barley that's already ripe

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 sorghum, millet, rye, and barley.  They would have grown wild at first when found, tasted and used.  

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.mining.com/biblical-copper-mines-environmental-impacts-lasting-to-this-day/#:~:text=Chalcolithic%20copper%20mine%20in%20Timna,of%20Kings%20David%20and%20Solomon.

https://www.newculture.com/blog/fermentation-an-ancient-process-for-yumminess

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/223/beer-in-the-ancient-world/

https://www.food.com/recipe/egyptian-barley-bread-423725

https://copper.org/education/history/60centuries/raw_material/thebeginnings.php#:~:text=The%20earliest%20definite%20date%20usually,and%20variable%20percentages%20of%20tin.

https://www.thoughtco.com/copper-history-pt-i-2340112#:~:text=Lake%20Van%2C%20in%20present%2Dday,%2C%20saucers%2C%20and%20drinking%20vessels.

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-copper-has-been-found-world#:~:text=Of%20the%20identified%20copper%20that,Mexico%2C%20and%20the%20United%20States.

Beer, That Staple of Ancient IRAQ, Egypt and the Middle East

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

           Mesopotamian Beer Rations  Tablet 

Cultural Revolution (c. 10,000 BCE), as fermentation was an accidental by-product of the gathering of wild grain.

The first beer in the world was brewed by the ancient Chinese around the year 7000 BCE (known as kui).

 In the west, however, the process now recognized as beer brewing began in Mesopotamia at the Godin Tepe settlement now in modern-day Iran between 3500 - 3100 BCE.  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.

The Egyptians did not invent beer. Rather they had learned the art of brewing from the world's first known brewers, the Sumerians, Babylonian, and Assyrians further to the east in what is now Iraq. 

The Egyptians, however, left us with the best documentation of ancient brewing practices. Most of the many depictions of Egyptian brewing that have come down to us are murals in vaults, pyramids, and sacrificial chambers. These attest to the importance and high esteem in which the art of beer-making was held in Egyptian society. Yet the find in Meketre's tomb probably ranks among the best preserved and most instructive.

                  Beer brewing in ancient Egypt

 It's said that beer was not invented but discovered, yet the manufacturing of beer was an active choice and the ancient Egyptians produced and consumed it in huge volumes. 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. 

At first, around the time of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, 

beer was brewed by mixing cooked loaves of bread 

in water and placing the mixture in heated jars 

to ferment. The use of hops was unknown to the 

Egyptians as was the process of carbonation.

Barley growing in field

                    

    Emmer, ancient wheat

By the time of the New Kingdom barley and emmer (wheat) were used which were mixed with water to create a mash which was then poured into vats and heated to ferment. Compared to modern wheat cultivars, ancient grains such as emmer are lower in gluten and higher in micronutrients like minerals and antioxidants. That said, they do contain gluten, as do all ancient and heirloom wheat. Gluten is a composite of different proteins found in grain.

This mixture was then strained and different herbs and fruits added for the flavoring of the various types of beer. According to Strudwick, "fermentation of everyday beer took a few days, producing a mixture fairly low in alcohol" and "the outcome was a thick, brothy liquid that had to be filtered through a basket before being drunk".  Once strained, the beer was sealed in ceramic jugs and stored, often underground in a process similar to later lagering.

In the New Kingdom, when emmer and barley were used, the use of dates and honey decreased in the production of common beer and were only used for higher quality brews for special occasions. Beer with a high alcohol content was favored for banquets and festivals and, in fact, a party was rated a success depending on the level of the participants' intoxication and the amount of beer consumed. The highest quality beer, of course, was brewed for the king and the nobility and flavored with honey which was associated with the gods. The beer found in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, for example, was honey beer similar to the later European mead.

From the Middle Kingdom onwards, beer was increasingly a state-run industry, although people still brewed their own in their homes. This beer continued to be amber in color but not as thick; as shown by residue found in the bottom of vats and also through the beer found in Tutankhamun's tomb and others. Just as beer was considered a staple for Egyptians in life, so was it considered a necessary offering for the dead; beer, therefore, became one of the most common grave goods placed in tombs for those who could afford to part with it. Since beer was was a common form of payment, including jars of the brew in a tomb would be comparable to burying one's paycheck with the deceased.

Egyptians used beer as a currency to pay slaves, tradesmen, priests, and public officials alike, which means that every Egyptian was entitled to a certain amount of daily beer. This quantity was strictly regulated, even at the highest level. A queen was entitled to 10 loaves of bread and two crocks of beer a day.                             

Beer was served to guests from pitchers and poured into ceramic cups from which guests drank without the use of straws or strainers. Strudwick notes that "the quality of beer depended on both the skill of the brewer and the sugar content: the more sugar that was added to the fermentation, the stronger the beer." The beer served at funerals would have been higher in alcohol content than a regular brew. The same beer enjoyed by the guests would have earlier been placed in the tomb of the departed.

Emmer was a nutritious daily staple of the ancient Egyptians for thousands of years. It originated thousands of years ago and found its way into Italy where it is still cultivated. Emmer is rich in fiber, protein, magnesium, and other vitamins. It is a complete protein source when combined with legumes, which makes it an excellent addition to a vegetarian diet or for anyone looking for a plant-based high-protein food source.

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.

People are the same today, thinking beer is for the laborer enjoying sports and the rich drink white wine.  

The people who do not enjoy beer today are those of the Middle East;  Iran, Iraq, Egypt, as Islam has outlawed alcohol.  Most likely it had become a problem, noticed and taken care of.  

Resource:

Read more at Gardening Know How: What Is Emmer Wheat: Information About Emmer Wheat Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/wheatgrass/emmer-wheat-plants.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/wheatgrass/emmer-wheat-plants.htm#:~:text=Compared%20to%20modern%20wheat%20cultivars,different%20proteins%20found%20in%20grain.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/archived-articles/629/#:~:text=Egyptians%20used%20beer%20as%20a,crocks%20of%20beer%20a%20day.

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1033/beer-in-ancient-egypt/