Beer brewing as early as 13,000 years ago in a cave in Israel
News News blog
The oldest evidence of the art of brewing from China to date dates back about 5,000 years.
But an excavation in Israel has now shown that the Natufien culture was already making beer about 13,000 years ago.
Archaeologists unearthed about 100 stone mortars and bowls in the cave. An examination of three of these items revealed plant residues that suggest the Natufien culture used the mortars to make beer ingredients. According to the scientists, this is the earliest archaeological evidence to date for grain-based beer brewing.
However, the scientists suspect that the beer was not drunk as an everyday beverage, as it is today, but only during ritual festivities such as celebrations for the dead.
However, the final product had little resemblance to the beer drunk today. This is mainly because the Natufian culture used other plants besides grain. And the consistency is said to be more reminiscent of a porridge than a drink.
