In the Reed Buckets There Is Sweet Beer: An Archaeology of Beer, Brewing, and Women in Mesopotamia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Drinking Beer in a Blissful Mood: A Global Archaeology of Beer" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

“Like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates,” the filtered beer pours into collection vats and from there into serving jars and beakers for the happy drinkers. Or so the Hymn to Ninkasi suggests. By the time the poet impressed those words into clay, beer had been brewed for generations with the practiced gestures and established stages evident in prose. Yet before the hymns, before the taverns, and before temple breweries there was the home-based brewing that began it all. It is largely accepted that women were the first brewers, crafting this beverage for their households, daily consumption, and feasts. How can we “see” the labor of these women archaeologically? While the best way to “see” beer is through pottery residue analysis, the process goes beyond this. Some lines of evidence can preserve well, including brewing vessels, ceramic strainers, beer residues, beakers, and at times carbonized, malted grain. Are there other traces that that might not survive well, such as reed buckets, organic straws, and even cloth filters? Through this paper I explore the broader context of brewing in ancient Mesopotamia, with a focus on the operational chain of brewing and the gendered practices of this deeply ancient libation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Drinking Beer in a Blissful Mood: A Global Archaeology of Beer   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37506.0