Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Reading questions
Beer:
1. How is the discovery of beer linked to the growth of the first civilizations?
The discovery of beer was inevitable once the gathering of wild
grains became widespread after the end of the ice age. The Fertile
Crescent had many hunter-gathers, which hunted and collected an
abundance of cereal grains. The hunter-gathers were previously
living nomadic lives but they then learned how to store food and
began to stay in one place. (Pg. 11-13)
2. What is the connection between the discovery of beer and the Neolithic
Revolution (beginnings of agriculture)?
Beer was an important social drink during that time. Sharing a drink
with someone is a universal symbol of hospitality and friendship.
Beers ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered
consciousness seemed magical to the Neolithic drinkers. Beer was
considered to be a gift from god, so it was also a religious offering.
(pg.19)
3. How did beer civilize man, according to Standage?
Enkidu was a wild man running naked and his friend Gilgamesh sat
him down and placed food and beer in front of him. He ate the food
until he was sated and he drank seven jugs of beer. He sang with joy,
his faced glowed and he splashed his body with water and rubbed
himself with oil and turned into a human. (pg.26)
4. How did the Egyptian attitude toward beer differ from that of Mesopotamia?
An Egyptian tale credits beer with saving humankind from
destruction. Ra, the sun god, learned humankind was plotting
against him, so he prepared a vast amount of beer with red dye, to
look like blood, and spread it over the vats. Hathor drank some of it
after looking at her reflection, became intoxicated, fell asleep and
forgot about her bloody mission. The Mesopotamians had a relaxed
attitude on beer but disliked the thought of drunkenness. Beer was
thought to have ancient and mythological origins and it appears in
prayers, myths and legends. (Pg.28-29)
5. Who built the ancient pyramids of Egypt and how were they paid? What
benefit did the pyramids and their construction bring to Egyptian society?
The Egyptian workers built the pyramids and were paid in beer. The
standard ration for a laborer was three or four loaves of bread and
two jigs containing about four liters of beer. The pyramids and their
construction brought Egyptian society an instilled sense of national
unity, demonstrated the wealth and power of the state, and
provided a justification for taxation.
(pg. 37)
Wine:
1. How did the development of large states and empires promote wine as a
drink of choice?
The development of large states and empires promoted wine as a
drink of choice as it was served at large feasts and banquets. King
Ashurnasirpal, II threw one of the greatest feasts in history by
serving wine and beer to his guests in equal quantity. This was a
show of wealth, he provided wine for not only the elite but everyone
in the city. (pg.46)
2. What role did Greek geography play in its economic development and trade?
Wine was plentiful enough to be widely affordable because the
climate and terrain of the Greek islands and mainland were ideal for
viticulture. Greeks vintners made improvements to the wine press
and adopted the practice of growing vines in neat rows, on trellises
and stakes, rather than up trees. Doing this allowed more vines to
be packed into a given space, increasing yields and providing easier
access for harvesting, causing more profit. (pg.53)
3. How was wine used by Greeks and how did it develop into a symbol of status?
Wine became widely available that even slaves were drinking it. It
no longer mattered that you were drinking wine but it was kind of
wine you were drinking. Greeks were primarily interested in its age,
rather than its exact vintage. Old wine was a badge of status and
the older the wine was the better it taste. (pg. 53)
4. What was Platos view of democracy? How did Platos symposium differ from
others?
Plato was suspicious of democracy. He felt it interfered with the
natural order of things. He
questioned why a man should obey his
father, or a scholar his teacher, if they were technically
equals.
Platos Symposium differed from others in the way that he looked for
ways to test a
mans character by allowing that man to drink wine
and following up with questions used to
test the personality of the
drinker. (pg.63, 65)
5. How was wine important in the transmission of Greek culture throughout the
Mediterranean and Asia?
Wine drinking was a cultural habit, worthy of imitation and spread
out by ships. Thanks to the
association with the intellectual
become
Spirits:
1. What is the origin of distilled spirits?
The origin of the word distilled spirits is Arabic and Greek. The word
alembic, which refers to a type of still, encapsulates this
combination of ancient knowledge and Arab innovation. It is derived
from the Arabic al- ambiq, descended in turn from the Greek word
ambix, which refers to the specially shaped vase used in distillation.
(pg. 95)
2. Explain the connection between spirits, slaves, and sugar.
The Europeans grew custom to bring large quantities of spirits as
gifts at the beginning of negotiations was the African traders. The
slaves that were traded, were sent to help with the sugar
production. Later on the connection became stronger between the
three because the new drink was invented from the sugarproduction, rum. (pg. 105)
3. Why did spirits become an important staple in colonial America?
7. How was tea connected to the opium trade and the Opium war of 1839-1842?
The Chinese werent interested in trading tea in return for the
European goods. Opium became illegal in China in 1729 but they still
continued with an illegal trade. The trade gates were closed by
China and in the efforts protect the tea trade and its associated
opium trade was only the volatile situation in Canton was addressed
but on the pretext of defending the right to free trade, war was
declared. The opium war of 1839-42 didnt last long because the
Europeans had the weapons to easily wipe out Chinese. The Chinese
were then forced to sign a peace treaty that granted Hong Kong to
the British, open five ports for the free trade of all goods, and
required the payment of reparations to the British in silver. (pg.
207 211)