Summary Of A History Of The World In Six Glasses

After reading "A History of the World in Six Glasses" by Tom Standage I found beer the most interesting beverage discussed in his book. I thought it was fascinating how the location and events of the first civilizations played a role in the discover of beer. I was also intrigued by the effects that beer had on the political, economic, and social aspects of these new civilizations. "The event that set humankind on the path towards modernity was the adoption of farming…" (Standage Pg.2) also known as the agricultural revolution. Some anthropologists have even suggested beer was one of the factors that played into the adoption of agriculture. The incredible discovery of beer would have encouraged people to settle down in one place and start

It had -- and continues to have-- an effect on the political, economic, and social aspects of civilizations. Dating back to the world 's first civilizations beer has a huge influence on the economy. In Mesopotamia "…wages and rations were paid in bread and beer.." (Standage Pg.2) ; cereal grains were considered the base of the economy. To this day beer is still creating jobs and generating economic growth. However, even in the ancient times people disapproved of beer. Although egyptians enjoyed beer there was a strong disapproval of drunkenness. Scribes would publish rules or guidelines with titles such as "Take not upon thyself to drink a jug of beer…" This shows the politics behind drinking beer. You were expected to drink beer as it was a symbol of prosperity but you weren 't supposed to become intoxicated. I think expectation such as this exist to this day. As for the social aspects traditions such as making a toast or clinking of the glasses can be traced back to the Paleolithic ages. This is interesting to me to know that a beverage i would have otherwise taken for granted have had a massive effect on the world 's history starting with the very first