Civilization Exists Because of Beer & Other Prehistory Facts

The Straight Line From Farming to Inequalities

Over the generations, humans developed stronger resistance to diseases, and the gap between births and deaths gradually widened. As civilization commenced and our ancestors inched their way towards governments that reduced violence within communities – cumulatively deadlier than wars – the population growth sped up even further. It was not all good, though. Surplus food allowed for inequalities that have been with us since the dawn of civilization: the emergence of social elites, such as warrior aristocrats and priests. They came to dominate their communities, seized a lion’s share of the resources, monopolized decision making, and laid the foundations for government and religion.

The surplus food also allowed for the emergence of specialists, such as potters, toolmakers, and builders. They were able to subsist by trading their skills and services for the food produced by farmers. That in turn led to a technological revolution that started with simple pottery, and gradually accumulated until we arrived at our present breakneck pace of technological and scientific advances. For good and ill, where we are today, and where we are headed, would not have been possible without the Neolithic Revolution, history’s greatest revolution.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Anthony, David W. – The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppe Shaped the Modern World (2007)

Barker, Graeme – The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory: Why Did Foragers Become Farmers? (2006)

Business Insider, July 19^th, 2015 – Forget Maserati: This Banker Literally Had the Most ‘Wild’ Rides

Christian, David – Origin Story: A Big History of Everything (2018)

Diamond, Jared – Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997)

Discover Magazine, May, 1987 – The Worst Mistake In the History of the Human Race

Encyclopedia Britannica – Neolithic Revolution

Encyclopedia Britannica – Origin of Horse Domestication

Gonick, Larry – The Cartoon History of the Universe (1990)

Guardian, The, December 5^th, 2017 – How Neolithic Farming Sowed the Seeds of Modern Inequality 10,000 Years Ago

Harari, Yuval Noah – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2014)

Harari, Yuval Noah – Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015)

History Collection – The Recent Egyptian Archaeological Discoveries are Rewriting History

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 21, October 2018 – Fermented Beverage and Food Storage in 13,000 Year Old Stone Mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian Ritual Feasting

National Geographic – Domestication

National Geographic Genographic Project – The Development of Agriculture: The Farming Revolution

PhysOrg – New Evidence Supports the Hypothesis that Beer May Have Been Motivation to Cultivate Cereals

Salon – Drinking Culture: Why Some Thinkers Believe Human Civilization Owes its Existence to Alcohol

Science  Alert, November 24^th, 2015 – Ancient DNA Reveals How Agriculture Changed Our Height, Digestion, and Skin Color

Slingerland, Edward – Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (2021)