num_pages: 348
description: In a lively tour around the world and through the millennia Uncorking the Past tells the compelling story of humanity's ingenious intoxicating quest for the perfect drink. Following a tantalizing trail of archaeological chemical artistic and textual clues Patrick E. McGovern the leading authority on ancient alcoholic beverages brings us up to date on what we now know about how humans created and enjoyed fermented beverages across cultures. Along the way he explores a provocative hypothesis about the integral role such libations have played in human evolution. We discover for example that the cereal staples of the modern world were probably domesticated for their potential in making quantities of alcoholic beverages. These include the delectable rice wines of China and Japan the corn beers of the Americas and the millet and sorghum drinks of Africa. Humans also learned how to make mead from honey and wine from exotic fruits of all kinds-even from the sweet pulp of the cacao (chocolate) fruit in the New World. The perfect drink it turns out-whether it be mind-altering medicinal a religious symbol a social lubricant or artistic inspiration-has not only been a profound force in history but may be fundamental to the human condition itself.
language: English
title: Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages
publisher: University of California Press