Yasin’s Arıbuan / Unplash
Beer and wine may have been the glue that united the first human complex societies.
The consumption of alcoholic beverages may have been fundamental in the formation of the first complex human societies. Or at least that’s what says drunkenness hypothesis.
Theory proposes that the alcoholby facilitating social cohesion and stimulating creativity, it may have helped in the political organization and development of ancient civilizations.
Researchers recently analyzed historical ethnographic reports of 186 non-industrial societies from around the world, looking for references to traditional alcohol consumption.
Data, in humanities and social sciences communications, revealed a positive correlation between cultural practices associated with alcohol and higher levels of political complexity, measured by the number of administrative levels in each society.
The study, which focused exclusively on fermented drinks with low alcohol contentAs a beer and wine, he concluded that alcohol functioned as a powerful political tool in ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Andes – cultures in which it was often integrated into secular religious rituals to strengthen alliances, organize work, and consolidate political authority.
In military contexts, such as among Celts and Germans, alcohol -watered parties were the glue that united the warriors, the authors say, who, however, admit that other factors, such as agriculture or religion, will have had a much greater weight in the emergence of civilization.
