Ancient Cups Provide Oldest Direct Evidence of Beer in Mesopotamia

Using novel chemical analysis techniques, a team of archaeologists has discovered the oldest direct evidence of beer in Mesopotamia at a site in Northern Iraq, according to a study published this June in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The Smithsonian reports Tuesday that the 2,500-year-old cups contain residue that provides chemical evidence both of fermentation and of barley, allowing scientists to conclude that our Mesopotamian ancestors were brewing and drinking barley beer. Elsa Perruchini, an archaeology PhD student, came to this conclusion by employing a chemical analysis technique called gas chromatography, which had never before been used in archaeology in a similar capacity. Gas chromatography allowed Perruchini to isolate and ignore possible soil contamination and confirm the link between the clay cups and barley beer. The success of Perruchini’s work will allow scientists to conduct similar chemical analyses at other sites. But it will also help Perruchini and her co-author, Claudia Glatz, to learn more about the fringes of the Babylonian empire “at a time of cultural upheaval.” “[Beer] is a quintessential Mesopotamian food stuff,” Glatz told the Smithsonian. “Everyone drank it but it also has a social significance in ritual practices. It really defines Mesopotamian identities in many ways.”