Question: What is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced with recipes found in Sumerian writings?
Context: Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC in Iran, and was recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and spread throughout the world. Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, a style of cooking of particular region, and the science of good eating.  One who is well versed in gastronomy is called a gastronome, while a gastronomist is one who unites theory and practice in the study of gastronomy.  Practical gastronomy is associated with the practice and study of the preparation, production, and service of the various foods and beverages, from countries around the world.  Theoretical gastronomy supports practical gastronomy.  It is related with a system and process approach, focused on recipes and cookery books.  Food gastronomy is connected with food and beverages and their genesis.  Technical gastronomy underpins practical gastronomy, introducing a rigorous approach to evaluation of gastronomic topics. Alcohol, also known by its chemical name ethanol, is a psychoactive drug found as the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.  It is one of the oldest and most common recreational drugs, causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication or "drunkenness".  Among other effects, alcohol produces euphoria, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, impairment of cognition, memory, and motor function, and generalized depression of central nervous system function.  Ethanol is the only type of alcohol that is found in alcoholic beverages and is commonly used for recreational purposes; other alcohols such as methanol and isopropyl alcohol are toxic and potentially lethal. The Anunnaki (also transcribed as Anunaki, Anunna, Ananaki, and other variations) are a group of deities that appear in the mythological traditions of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians.  Descriptions of how many Anunnaki there were and what role they fulfilled are inconsistent and often contradictory.  In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which come from the Post-Akkadian period, the Anunnaki are the most powerful deities in the pantheon, descendants of An, the god of the heavens, and their primary function is to decree the fates of humanity.  In "Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld", the Anunnaki are portrayed as seven judges who sit before the throne of Ereshkigal in the Underworld.  Later Akkadian texts, such as "The Epic of Gilgamesh", follow this portrayal.  During the Old Babylonian period, the Anunnaki were believed to be the chthonic deities of the Underworld, while the gods of the heavens were known as the Igigi. Thomistic sacramental theology is St. Thomas Aquinas's theology of the sacraments of the Catholic Church.  It can be found through his writings in the "Summa contra Gentiles" and in the "Summa Theologiæ".  As can be seen, Aquinas relied heavily on Scriptural passages, as well as the writings of various Church Fathers.  St. Augustine says (De Civ.  Dei x): The visible sacrifice is the sacrament.  This is the sacred sign of the invisible sacrifice.  A thing is called a sacrament, either by having a certain hidden sanctity, and in this sense a sacrament is a sacred secret; or from having some relationship to this sanctity.  A sacrament is a sign.  Moreover, it is a sacred sign.  Divine Wisdom provides for each thing according to its mode.  Wisdom 7,1 : "she... ordered all things sweetly"; and from Matthew 25,15: "[she] gave to everyone according to his proper ability."  It is a part of human nature to acquire knowledge of the intelligible from the sensible.  A sign is the way one obtains knowledge of something else.  The sacraments are the signs by which humans gain knowledge of spiritual and intelligible goods.  Ephesians 5, 25-26: "Christ loved the Church, and delivered Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life."  St. Augustine says (Tract.  xxx in John): "The word is added to the element, and this becomes the sacrament."  Augustine (Contra Faust xix): "It is impossible to keep men together in one religious denomination, whether true or false, except they be united by means of visible signs or sacraments."  It is necessary for salvation that humans united together in the name of true religion.  Therefore, sacraments are necessary for man's salvation.  There are three reasons sacraments are necessary to the salvation of humans: First, it is in the nature of humans to be led by things corporal and sensible to things that are spiritual and intelligible.  Second, by sinning, humans have subjected themselves to corporeal things.  Therefore, it is proper that the remedy have a corporeal side, leading to the spiritual.  Third, humans are prone to direct their activity towards material things (things that can be seen and felt).  Sacraments are made necessary because humans have sinned.  The main effect of the sacraments is grace, in particular those involving Virtues and Gifts.  Grace perfects the soul and allow participation in the Divine Nature.  Furthermore, the effects of the sacraments is justification.  This is an interior effect.  Romans 8,33: "God justifies."  Therefore, the effects of the sacraments is justification.  This is an interior effect.  The power of the sacraments is from God, alone.  It does not matter that the minister of the sacraments may be a sinner, or evil.  Augustine (commenting on John 1,33): "He upon Whom you shall see the Spirit, ...that John did not know that our Lord, having the authority of baptizing, would keep it to Himself, but that the ministry would certainly pass to both good and evil men...What is a bad minister to you, wherever the Lord is good?" This is a list of ancient dishes, foods and beverages that have been recorded as originating during ancient history.  The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC. Culture & Social Cognition is the relationship between human culture and human cognitive capabilities.  Cultural cognitive evolution proposes that humans’ unique cognitive capacities are not solely due to biological inheritance, but are in fact due in large part to cultural transmission and evolution (Tomasello, 1999).  Modern humans and great apes are separated evolutionarily by about six million years.  Proponents of cultural evolution argue that this would not have been enough time for humans to develop the advanced cognitive capabilities required to create tools, language, and build societies through biological evolution.  Biological evolution could not have individually produced each of these cognitive capabilities within that period of time.  Instead, humans must have evolved the capacity to learn through cultural transmission (Tomasello, 1999).  This provides a more plausible explanation that would fit within the given time frame.  Instead of having to biologically account for each cognitive mechanism that distinguishes modern humans from previous relatives, one would only have to account for one significant biological adaptation for cultural learning.  According to this view, the ability to learn through cultural transmission is what distinguishes humans from other primates (Tomasello, 1999).  Cultural learning allows humans to build on existing knowledge and make collective advancements, also known as the “ratchet effect”.  The ratchet effect simply refers to the way in which humans continuously add on to existing knowledge through modifications and improvements.  This unique ability distinguishes humans from related primates, who do not seem to build collaborative knowledge over time.  Instead, primates seem to build individual knowledge, in which the expertise of one animal is not built on by others, and does not progress across time. Eridu (Cuneiform: NUN.KI ; Sumerian: eridu; Akkadian: "irîtu" modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq).  Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world.  Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another.  These buildings were made of mud brick and built on top of one another.  With the temples growing upward and the village growing outward, a larger city was built.  In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home of Enki, later known by the Akkadians as Ea, who was considered to have founded the city.  His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem. Beer is produced through steeping a sugar source (commonly malted cereal grains) in water and then fermenting with yeast.  Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt.  Descriptions of various beer recipes can be found in Sumerian writings, some of the oldest known writing of any sort.  Brewing is done in a brewery by a brewer, and the brewing industry is part of most western economies. Eannatum (Sumerian: ) was a Sumerian king of Lagash; he established one of the first verifiable empires in history.  One inscription found on a boulder states that Eannatum was his Sumerian name, while his "Tidnu" (Amorite) name was "Lumma".
Answer: Beer