Interesting Read
I always knew beer made the world go round!
It makes my world go round that’s for sure.
Interesting article. I linked off and found that the Babylonians had 20 different types of beer. That is impressive.
Beer certainly enabled a far greater genetic diversity in the reproductive habits of our species.
and around and around. Back in my real drinking days I learned to fall asleep with my eyes open so that it didn’t make the world go round to much!
Wasn’t it Dean Martin that said: “You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without hanging on.”
Interesting Article. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/08/beer-lubricated-rise-civilization-study-suggests/
Ahhh edward beat you to it! http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=4494.0
I posted to the wrong forum too. Bad Dano! 
Interesting article for sure, but am I the only one who has read Micheal Jackson? He made that argument a decade ago.
For the record, I merged the two topics together.
It’s a constant back and forth in the anthropology world between those who feel bread was the reason we started cultivating grains and settled down and those who feel it was beer. So, yeah, you’ll see periodic arguments being put forth as new evidence is collected.
Beer makes a lot more sense to me. Bread is good and I’d like to build a brick oven in my backyard. But the first thing I do when I move into a new place is get it ready for brewing. Bread comes later. ;D
I’ll buy that for a dollar. 8)
I’d think that some sort of porridge or gruel was before either beer or bread. Someone spilled some on a hot rock near the fire and it tasted good. Someone else left a watery gruel out to long and it tasted good, and made you feel good too!
A huge over-simplification, I know. Here’s another interesting article:
http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.5/kavanagh.html
As with a lot of fermented/moldy foodstuffs I think the discovery of beer was probably a hunger issue. Stored food went “off” and I’m not eating that! was cast aside when nothing was left and starvation became an issue.
And a wonderful discovery was made…
I think that’s probably right euge.
And I’m not suggesting that beer was discovered before bread or gruel or anything, but to me bread doesn’t seem like sufficient motivation to settle down and cultivate grain. As long as you’re settled down and cultivating grain then sure, bread and lots of other stuff. Bouef.
Yeah, I’m of the mind that the discovery of agriculture fueled the rise of civilization, and with it, beer and bread in short order.