The Origins of Inebriation: Archaeological Evidence of … · The Origins of Inebriation:...

The Origins of Inebriation: Archaeological Evidenceof the Consumption of Fermented Beverages and Drugsin Prehistoric Eurasia

Elisa Guerra-Doce

Published online: 20 March 2014# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Abstract The earliest testimonies of the use of alcohol and drugs suggest that inebriationis a long-established habit, the origins of which can be traced back to prehistory. Traceshighly suggestive of fermented beverages and remains of psychoactive plants have beenrecovered from archaeological sites throughout prehistoric Europe. This paper surveysthe history of these substances from a cultural approach based on the contexts ofconsumption. A wide range of documents will be examined here (macrofossil remainsof psychoactive plants, residues of fermented beverages, alkaloids in archaeological itemsand artistic depictions, among others). Considering that these sensory-altering productsare mainly found in tombs and ceremonial places, they seem to be strongly connected toritual usages. Far from being consumed for hedonistic purposes, it can therefore be arguedthat drug plants and alcoholic drinks had a sacred role among prehistoric societies.

Keywords Prehistory . Europe . Drugs . Fermented beverages . Ritual

Introduction

Scholarly attention to psychoactive substances (i.e. those which act primarily upon thecentral nervous system where they affect brain function, resulting in temporary changes

J Archaeol Method Theory (2015) 22:751–782DOI 10.1007/s10816-014-9205-z

This paper has emerged from a series of lectures, and it has greatly benefited from the opportunity to receivecomments from different audiences. It was first presented at the conference “Intoxicants and Intoxication inHistorical and Cultural Perspective”, organized by Dr Phil Withington and Dr Angela McShane in Cambridge,July 2010. Despite the title of this conference, I have intentionally avoided the terms “intoxicants” or“intoxication” because they are associated with “poisoning”, and have a pejorative meaning. This is inmarked contrast to the role of mind-altering substances in prehistoric times, when they were consumed inritual contexts and were considered to be sacred. I further explored this issue in a paper read at the LaboratoireProtohistoire Européenne (UMR 7041, CNRS-Universités Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne and Paris Ouest-LaDéfense), in Paris, March 2011, on the invitation of Dr Laurence Manolakakis and Dr Olivier Weller.

To the memory of Professor Andrew Sherratt

E. Guerra-Doce (*)Departamento de Prehistoria, Universidad de Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spaine-mail: [email protected]

in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition and behaviour) has long been paid bypsychologists, pharmacologists and sociologists. However, despite the fact that theconsumption of these substances is as ancient as human societies themselves, researchinto their historical and cultural contexts is fairly recent. Ethnographic literature providesa vast amount of information about mind-altering plants within many non-Westernpreindustrial societies around the world, especially from Central and South America(Dobkin de Rios 1984; Furst 1976, 1990; Harner 1973; Ott 1993; Schultes and Hofmann1979, 1980). Likewise, there is a great body of work on alcohol from an anthropologicalapproach (De Garine and De Garine 2001; Dietler 2006; Douglas 1987; Everett et al.1976; Heath 1995, 2000; Horton 1943; Mandelbaum 1965; Wilson 2005).

For the Old World, the earliest written records implying the use of drug plants, andmore specifically the opium poppy, might date back to the third millennium BC withthe Sumerians of Mesopotamia (Kritikos and Papadaki 1967a, p. 37), but this claim isstill a matter of debate (Krikorian 1975). In contrast, Egyptian papyri contain uncon-tested evidence of the use of different psychoactive plant species from the middle of thesecond millennium BC (Gabra 1956; Schultes and Hofmann 1979). The consumptionof alcohol in ancient civilisations is well attested from the fourth millennium BCthrough iconographic representations of drinking scenes1, archaeochemical analysesbased on the detection of indicators of fermented beverages in the residues attached tothe ceramic matrix of pottery sherds, and later on also through texts dating from thesecond millennium BC (such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Hymn to Ninkasi, theSumerian goddess of brewing and beer, or the Book of the Dead, among others) (Badleret al. 1996; Geller 1993; Guasch-Jané 2008, 2011; Guasch-Jané et al. 2004, 2006a, b;Hartman and Oppenheim 1950; Helck 1971; Hornsey 2003; Joffe 1998; Lutz 1922;Maksoud et al. 1994; McGovern 2009; McGovern et al. 1995; Milano 1994; Poo 1995;Röllig 1970; Samuel 1996; Zamora 2000).

Unfortunately, similar work on the prehistory of Eurasia is comparatively quitesparse, despite the fact that the archaeological record contains many indications of theuse of psychoactive substances. One of the earliest accounts referring to this practice isthat of the Greek historian Herodotus (1995) when describing the burial rituals of theScythians on the Pontic steppes by the mid-fifth century BC. After funerals, a purifica-tion ceremony involving hemp was performed in the following manner:

“After the burial the Scythians cleanse themselves as I will show: they anoint andwash their heads; as for their bodies, they set up three poles leaning together to apoint and cover these over with woollen mats; then, in the place so enclosed to thebest of their power, they make a pit in the centre beneath the poles and the mats andthrow red-hot stones into it. (74) They have hemp growing in their country, very likeflax, save that the hemp is by much the thicker and taller. This grows both of itselfand also by their sowing, and of it the Thracians evenmake garments which are verylike linen; nor could any, save he were a past master in hemp, knowwhether they behempen or linen; whoever has never yet seen hemp will think the garment to be

1 These scenes depict human figures drinking from cups or sipping the liquids through long reeds or tubes,since beer in ancient times was not strained or filtered and it usually contained husks and other insoluble plantconstituents (Ellison 1984). We have the account of Xenophon (Anabasis, IV, pp. 26–27) to testify thispractice, when describing a beverage offered to him and his men in the territory of modern-day Armenia.

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linen. (75) The Scythians then take the seed of this hemp and, creeping under themats, they throw it on the red-hot stones; and, being so thrown, it smoulders andsends forth so much steam that no Greek vapour-bath could surpass it. TheScythians howl in their joy at the vapour-bath. This serves them instead of bathing,for they never wash their bodies with water” (Histories, IV, 73–75).

Similar references to the use of other drug plants in the Classical World can indeedbe found in the works of many Greek and Roman writers (Guerra-Doce 2006a).However, the earliest archaeobotanical finds of mind-altering plants species in prehis-toric sites were not reported until the end of the nineteenth century. In 1866, the Swissantiquarian Ferdinand Keller pointed out the presence of some seeds and capsules ofthe opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and a piece of a poppy-seed cake in theNeolithic lake-dwelling site of Robenhausen, Switzerland; however, this species wasinterpreted as a food or oil plant, rather than as a source of opiates (Keller 1866). Notlong afterwards, the Spanish scholar Manuel de Góngora (1868), in his workAntigüedades Prehistóricas de Andalucía, suggested that Neolithic groups of South-East Iberia might have been aware of the narcotic properties of the opium poppy owingto the discovery of a number of P. somniferum capsules in the burial cave of Cueva delos Murciélagos (Albuñol, Granada). Although this site had been previously disturbedby a group of local miners, Góngora was able to locate over 70 burials clustered in fourspecific areas.2 Among the grave goods deposited beside the dead, some esparto grasswoven bags were recovered, containing different items, and seeds and heads of theopium poppy, which were interpreted as a symbol of both sleep and death.3

As for evidence of fermented beverages, a number of the most important ceramicforms in the archaeological record have been identified either as serving and drinkingutensils used for the consumption of alcoholic drinks, due to the morphologicalcharacteristics of the vessels and their contexts of deposition, or as objects associatedwith psychoactive substances (Sherratt 1991). However, the only way to verify theconsumption of alcoholic beverages is by identifying the original contents of the pots.Therefore, the hypothesis regarding the consumption of such substances in prehistoricEurope was purely speculative, since it was based on circumstantial evidence.

Despite all these early indications, the use of mind-altering products has largely beenoverlooked, either consciously or unconsciously, by archaeologists working onEuropean prehistory. Opium soon attracted the attention of scholars in the EasternMediterranean (Gabra 1956; Krikorian 1975; Kritikos and Papadaki 1967a, b;Marinatos 1937; Merrillees 1962), but it is only very recently that the prominence ofsimilar substances has begun to be recognized. It was the late Professor Andrew Sherrattwho pioneered this line of research, for which he coined the term “Anthropology ofIntoxication” (Sherratt 1987, 1991, 1995). In recent years, the study of drug plants(Guerra-Doce 2006a; Juan-Tresserras 2000; Merlin 1984, 2003; Rudgley 1993) andfermented beverages (Arnold 1999; Dietler 1990; Dugan 2009; Koch 2003; Vencl 1994)has become the object of painstaking investigation and with promising results.

2 La Cueva de los Murciélagos de Albuñol has recently been re-studied. Four radiocarbon determinations datethis site to the fifth millennium cal BC (Cacho et al. 1996).3 The opium poppy capsule came to be an important motif among ancient Mediterranean societies because ofits symbolic and ritual significance (Guerra-Doce 2002; Kritikos and Papadaki 1967a, b).

Origins of Inebriation: Evidence in Prehistoric Eurasia 753

Methodology

Four different categories of archaeological documents can potentially be used to tracethe consumption of inebriating substances in prehistoric Europe:

1. Macrofossil remains (desiccated, burned or waterlogged wood, leaves, fruits orseeds) of psychoactive plants

2. Residues suggestive of alcoholic beverages3. Psychoactive alkaloids in archaeological artefacts and skeletal remains from pre-

historic times4. Artistic depictions of mood-altering plant species and drinking scenes

I will briefly discuss these lines of evidence. However, the mere identification of theuse of inebriants in archaeological contexts is not the ultimate goal of my research.Rather, it is far more relevant to explore the cultural significance of this practice.

Macrofossil Remains of Psychoactive Plants

In prehistoric times, European flora offered a great diversity of plant species and fungiwith psychoactive properties, such as the opium poppy (P. somniferum), hemp(Cannabis sp.), ephedra (Ephedra sp.), some members of the Solanaceae family, suchas deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), man-drake (Mandragora officinarum) or jimsonweed (Datura sp.), but also ergot fungus(Claviceps purpurea) and hallucinogenic mushrooms, such as the liberty cap(Psylocybe semilanceata) or even the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), amongmany others (Merlin 2003; Rudgley 1993).

Whilst evidence for the use of many of these species has been documentedin a number of prehistoric sites throughout Europe (Guerra-Doce 2006a), a fulllist of all the archaeobotanical discoveries of psychoactive plants would gobeyond the scope of this paper. These species are generally known for theirmood-altering properties, but many of them have a number of other uses (forinstance, oil or fibre). Likewise, they might have grown as weeds among thecrops and been harvested unintentionally, or again they might have been usedas animal fodder, among other options. Thus, it is important to underline thattheir occurrence in archaeological contexts may not necessarily indicate theiruse as drugs (Guerra-Doce and López Sáez 2006).

One of the earliest documents of the occurrence of mood-altering plants inthe Old World is that of a Middle Palaeolithic burial cave at Shanidar, northernIraq, ca. 60,000 BC. Around the skeleton of an adult male aged between 30and 45 years, known as Shanidar IV or the “flower burial”, palynologicalstudies revealed the presence of a number of medicinal plant species includingephedra, a natural stimulant (Leroi-Gourhan 1975). Consequently, thisNeanderthal grave was considered to be that of a shaman (Solecki 1975).Other scholars, however, dispute the idea that these plants were the result ofa ritual deposition, but rather of a subsequent contamination of the cave by theactivity of the Persian jird (Meriones persicus), as many bones of this gerbil-like rodent were found during the excavation of Shanidar (Sommer 1999).

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Archaeobotanical remains for the use of psychoactive plant species increase signif-icantly from the Neolithic period onwards. Since the Early Neolithic, ca. sixth millen-nium BC, many Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in north-western Europe haveprovided opium poppy remains, but direct evidence of the exploitation of the narcoticproperties of this species is quite scarce (Merlin 1984). Indeed, at the Neolithic site ofVaux-et-Borset, Belgium, opium poppy seeds were added as temper to the clay used toproduce one of the pots found there (Bakels et al. 1992).

In the Neolithic ceremonial centre at Balfarg/Balbirnie, near Glenrothes, Fife,Scotland, cereal-based residues, pollen and seeds of black henbane (H. niger) werereported on Late Neolithic pottery. Some Grooved ware sherds that had been inten-tionally buried in pits excavated at one of the Balfarg Riding School timber structuresin the first half of the third millennium BC were examined for organic residues (Barclayand Russell-White 1993). These structures have been interpreted as fenced enclosures,protecting a mortuary platform where, supposedly, the dead would be laid out to be de-fleshed before burial. Thus, henbane would have transferred hallucinogenic propertiesto the porridge-like substance found in that pot, and this substance would have beeningested as part of the burial rites. A re-examination of the potsherds from Balfarg,however, failed to find any traces of henbane or any other poisonous plants (Long et al.1999, 2000).

Another example is the Grauballe Man, an Iron Age peat-bog body found inDenmark, ca. 400–200 BC. The analysis of his intestines revealed the presence ofnumerous scleroties of ergot (C. purpurea). This fungus with hallucinogenic compo-nents should be better understood as a contamination of rye, which was one of theingredients of this man’s last meal (Stødkilde-Jørgensen et al. 2008).

Yet many archaeobotanical finds provide uncontested evidence for the exploitation ofthe mood-altering properties of these plants. The domestication of the opium poppy isthought to have started during the sixth millennium BC in the Western Mediterranean(Bakels 1982), from where it spread to the rest of the continent (for references, seeGuerra-Doce 2006a) to reach north-west Europe by the end of the sixth millennium BC(Salavert 2010). Apart from its oily seeds, it seems that the exploitation of its narcoticproperties cannot be ruled out. The discovery of the remains of a capsule of the opiumpoppy in the dental calculus of a male burial at the mining complex of Gavá, Barcelona,Spain, led to the search for opiates in other burials at this Middle/Late Neolithic site, ca.fourth millennium BC. Four individuals were selected for analysis: a female child, anelderly woman and two young males (one of them the individual with the poppy capsulestuck between his teeth). Traces of opiates were found only in the male skeletons,although it was not possible to determine whether the consumption of opium wasassociated with medicinal uses (as the male with the opium poppy capsule in his teethhad survived a double trepanation), or if it was a way to indulge miners during theextraction of variscite (Juan-Tresserras and Villalba 1999). Many centuries later, Plinythe Elder, in his Natural History, refers to the consumption of opium in Iberia, whichclearly illustrates that this practice had a long-established tradition:

“This juice is possessed not only of certain soporific qualities, but, if taken in toolarge quantities, is productive of sleep unto death even: the name given to it is“opium”. It was in this way, we learn, that the father of P. Licinius Caecina, a manof Praetorian rank, put an end to his life at Bavilum in Spain, an incurable malady


having rendered existence quite intolerable to him. Many other persons, too, haveended their lives in a similar way” (Natural History, XX, LXXVI, 199).

In Eastern Europe, the practice of burning Cannabis played a significant role duringburial practices, at least from the third millennium BC onwards. At that time, the Pit-Grave Culture was developed, represented by barrows or kurgans heaped over theburial chamber. A number of these tombs have yielded among the grave goodsdeposited there ceramic polypod bowls, which have traditionally been interpreted asbraziers. The discovery of some charred Cannabis seeds in one of these bowls atGurbaneşti, near Bucharest, in Romania, as well as in an Early Bronze Age tomb fromthe North Caucasus, supports this idea (Ecsedy 1979). Not surprisingly, the pottery ofthese groups is typically ornamented with cord impressions, which were made, accord-ing to Sherratt (1987), with twisted hemp fibres as an indication of the importance ofthis drug. This technique spread westwards to the Globular Amphorae culture and isalso found in certain types of Beaker pots (the all-over-corded variety, or AOC)illustrating the practice of burning Cannabis as a narcotic among the pastoral peoplesof central Eurasia (Sherratt 1995, p. 27).

Likewise, marijuana, ephedra and the opium poppy have been reported in BronzeAge ceremonial sites located in the Kara Kurum desert of Turkmenistan, correspondingto the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. In an Early Bronze Age templeexcavated in the Gonur South area, some private rooms have provided ceramic potscontaining pollen and macrofossil remains of ephedra and marijuana, which suggeststhat psychoactive drinks were consumed in this religious complex. Similarly, somevessels found in the nearby shrine of Togolok 21, dated several centuries later,contained ephedra and opium poppy, and pollen of the latter species was detectedinside an engraved bone tube (Sarianidi 1994). As a result of this evidence, theexcavator of these sites has argued that haoma, a sacred psychotropic beverage of theZoroastrian doctrine, was consumed in these temples, and these mind-altering plantswould have been additives. A more recent re-examination of the Gonur vessels,however, has failed to detect any mind-altering substance in the samples (Bakels 2003).

Residues suggestive of a narcotic infusion have been detected in some Bronze Ageburial mounds of Russia, in the northwestern Caspian steppe, dated to the CatacombCulture (ca. 2500–2000 cal BC). This interpretation is based on the abundance ofphytoliths of Cannabis, occasionally mixed with the psychotropic wormwood(Artemisia lerchiana), in some vessels deposited in kurgan 1 at Zunda-Tolga 3, andkurgan 14 at Mandjikiny. It proves the importance of intoxicating preparations con-taining hemp in the mortuary rites of the prehistoric peoples of the Caspian steppes(Shishlina et al. 2007).

The inhalation of marijuana continued to exist in Eurasia as late as the fourth centuryBC, when burial mound number 2 at Pazyryk, in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, isdated. Located at the bottom of a shaft, the chamber contained the burials of a man anda woman, accompanied by many grave goods. Following the description of this barrowmade by Rudenko (1970, pp. 284–285): “In the south-western corner of the burialchamber there was a cluster of six rods, below which rested a rectangular bronze vesselstanding on four feet filled with pounded stone. (…). Farther north in the western halfof the chamber there was a second bronze vessel of the ‘Scythian cauldron’ shape, alsofilled with stones, under six sticks splayed out in the same way (…) and covered over

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by a large leather hanging. In each vessel besides the stones, (…) there was a smallquantity of seeds of hemp (Cannabis sativa L. of the variety of C. ruderalis). Mentionwas also made of the hemp seeds in the leather flasks attached to one of the sticks in thehexapod stand over the vessel of ‘Scythian cauldron’ shape. Burning hot stones hadbeen placed in the censer and part of the hemp seeds had been charred. Furthermore,the handle of the cauldron-censer had been bound round with birch bark, evidentlybecause the heat of the stones was such that its handle had become too hot to hold in thebare hands”. All of this indicates that the Scythians burnt female hemp plants in vesselscontaining red-hot stones in order to inhale the narcotic smoke.4 Therefore, there is nodoubt regarding the accuracy of the account given by Herodotus!

Alcohol: Traces of Fermented Drinks

In prehistoric times, alcohol was obtained through the fermentation of sugars present incertain products by the action of naturally occurring yeasts and some types of bacteria.The main raw materials used to prepare alcoholic beverages came from five sources ofsugars: sugar-rich fruits and honey (fructose and glucose), malted grain (maltose), treesap (sucrose) and milk (lactose). Therefore, the variety of alcoholic drinks in prehistoricEurope was very limited and involved fruit wines, mead, beer and fermented drinksmade from dairy products; the spread of viticulture and the development ofwinemaking in temperate Europe and the Western Mediterranean did not take placeuntil as recently as the first millennium BC during the Iron Age, and it is linked to thecommercial expansion of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans (Guerra-Doce 2009; Hornsey 2003; McGovern 2003; McGovern et al. 2013b).

It has been suggested that many primates and early hominids could have intentionallyconsumed over-ripe fruits in search for their mood-altering properties due to the ethanolcontent (this is a naturally occurring substance resulting from the fermentation of sugar-rich fruits) (Dudley 2004). According to this “drunken monkey hypothesis”, as it hascome to be named, primates’ attraction to alcohol may have a genetic basis (Stephensand Dudley 2004). This habit could have led to the discovery of alcoholic drinks as earlyas the Palaeolithic (McGovern 2003, pp. 7–11). Some scholars rule out the possibilitythat fermented beverages could have been produced before the invention of potteryduring the Neolithic (Vencl 1994, p. 307). However, the technological and technicalprerequisites of brewing were well established in the Natufian (Hayden et al. 2013), andthe drinking of beer made from fermented wild crops could have had an important rolein the course of ritual feasts among Epipalaeolithic communities of the Near East(Dietrich et al. 2012). Yet, for the time being at least, direct evidence is lacking.

4 Hemp is a dioecious plant, that is, male and female flowers are found in different plants. The mainpsychoactive compound is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which occurs most abundantly in the female plants(Schultes and Hofmann 1980). The presence of burnt seeds in Pazyryk proves that the Scythians were aware ofthis, and consequently, they burnt female plants. In 1993, a similar kurgan containing the preserved body of ayoung woman, known as the Siberian Ice Maiden, was discovered on the Ukok Plateau in the AltaiMountains, and more specifically in “The Pasture of Heaven”, an area used as a burial ground for manycenturies. Among the grave goods of this Scythian lady, a small stone dish with burnt seeds was found, but inthis case they turned out to be coriander. This is a strong-smelling plant that was probably burnt to cover odors(Polosmak and O’Rear 1994).


Another interesting issue is the motivation for the domestication of cereals in thefirst place. May thirst rather than hunger have been the stimulus behind the origin ofsmall grain agriculture? This would imply that the primary reason for the cultivation ofcereal crops was brewing, rather than bread-making, with beer being the intendedproduct5 (Braidwood et al. 1953; Katz and Voigt 1986; Reichholf 2008). The difficultyhere is that there is no conclusive archaeological evidence in support of this argumentand, moreover, that “the discovery of fermentation is not an inevitable consequence ofcereal growing, since it requires a knowledge of malting and yeast”, as Sherratt (1995,p. 24) pointed out. Indeed, the making of beer is far more complex than that of otherfermented beverages, since it involves three distinct processes (malting, mashing andfermentation)6, and often requires the addition of sugar-rich fruits or honey to facilitatethe fermentation process (Jennings et al. 2005). By contrast, fermentation is a naturalprocess in the case of fruits or diluted honey, due to the presence of yeasts. For thisreason, it is most likely that fruit wines and mead, both made with products notresulting from the farming economy (domesticated cereals or milk), pre-date beer andkumis (Hornsey 2003).

Traces of the original contents of ancient pottery, which are invisible to the nakedeye, may have been absorbed within the porous ceramic matrix of the vessels and maybe detected and chemically identified by the use of a wide range of analyticaltechniques. Yet the most widespread technique is the combination of chromatographicprocedures (gas chromatography or liquid chromatography) with mass spectrometry(GC/MS and LC/MS), which was developed in the field of Applied Chemistry in theearly 1970s (Merritt 1970) and applied to archaeological studies soon afterwards(Condamin et al. 1976). As a result, this aspect of research into BiomolecularArchaeology has developed rapidly over the last 30 years (Evershed 2008; Evershedet al. 1990). Detailed information concerning different analytical methods for identi-fying organic residues in ceramic samples, as well as other archaeological artefacts, isprovided in the work of Barnard and Eerkens (2007).

Whilst it is not always possible to identify the residues adhering to ancient ceramicvessels, the detection of particular indicators attached to the ceramic matrix of unglazedpottery sherds is highly suggestive of alcoholic brews. Neither the detection of cerealgrains (phytoliths of festucoid cereal seeds, silica skeletons of cereals, high concentra-tion of pollen of Cerealia) conclusively proves the presence of beer, nor that of tartaricacid, which occurs in large amounts in only the Eurasian grape, is necessarily

5 It should be noted that all of the world’s staple cereals (maize, rice, sorghum, millet, barley and wheat) aresuitable for brewing. Therefore, their domestication would have provided more grain for the mass productionof beer.6 Unlike fruits, which already contain the requisite sugars, cereal’s insoluble starches must be converted intosoluble sugars, through the action of enzymes. There have been two main ways of doing so: masticating thecereal grains, in which case the enzyme pyalin found in the saliva activates conversion, or else malting it (thatis, steeping the grain in water for several days to set off the growth mechanism), in which case the process istriggered by diastase, a grouping of two separate enzymes formed from germinated cereal (alpha and betaamylase). Malted grain must then be crushed to facilitate the conversion of the starch into malt sugars duringthe mash. The added step of mashing, that is, the heating (but not boiling) of the crushed malted grain in waterfor a period of time, is essential so that all the starches are converted into sugars (saccharification).Temperature is critical at this point: if the water is too hot the starch will be killed; too cool a temperatureand the enzymes will not re-activate optimally. Saccharification is indicated by the darkening of the mash.Finally, the wort, the liquid obtained from the mashing containing the sugars that will be fermented by theyeast to produce alcohol, is boiled to kill the enzymes that are still active (Dineley 2004; Nelson 2005).

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associated with wine, since it is present in many vegetables and fruits and can alsoindicate the presence of different grape products (juice, raisins, vinegar and concen-trated syrup) (McGovern et al. 2013b). However, certain residues have been interpretedas the remains of fermented beverages as a result of the (combination of the) followingindicators (Barnard et al. 2011; Guasch-Jané et al. 2004, 2006a, b; Juan-Tresserras1998; Maksoud et al. 1994; McGovern 2003, 2009; Michel et al. 1993; Pecci et al.2013):

– Starch granules affected by malting and the enzymatic attack, suggesting thedevelopment of the saccharification process

– Yeast, the role of which is to convert sugars into alcohol– Lactic acid bacteria, indicators associated with the fermentation of sugars– Frustules of diatoms, as above– Calcium oxalate, a major component of the “beerstone” which is produced during

the malting process7

– Lignoceric and cerotic acids, which indicate the presence of either beeswax orhoney

– Tartaric, malic, succinic, fumaric, citric and syringic acids and malvidin, bio-markers for wine

The results indicate that the cereals used for malting were barley (Hordeumvulgare) and wheat (Triticum sp.), and in some cases, the presence of honey andaromatic herbs (Filipendula, Arbutus, Epilobium angustifolium, among others) hasbeen detected. There is some evidence for the making of fruit wines using grapes andother sugar-rich fruits. Occasionally, these drinks were strengthened with psychoactiveplants in order to reinforce their mood-altering properties (Delibes et al. 2009).The distinction between those substances which were meant to ferment and thosesimply added to, or macerated in, a fermented beverage for flavour can rarely bedetermined. For instance, it is difficult to verify when beer was made from fermentedcereals as well as fermented honey, and when honey was added at the time of drinking(Nelson 2005, p. 2).

Consequently, the interpretation of the organic residues adhering to the walls of thepots is not so easy to assess. As Eerkens and Barnard (2007, p. 6) have noted: “Itremains unclear, however, if the residue represents the first food to come into contactwith the ceramic matrix, after which the available binding sites are saturated, or the last,if older residues are continually replaced by new ones, or a combination of all food everto have been inside the vessel, if the molecules that make up the residue compete for theavailable binding places”. Generally speaking, most of the organic remains may berelated to the function of the vessels. Therefore, the traces found in the course oforganic residues analyses might be associated with the final stages of the use of thepots. The archaeological context (e.g. one-time burial) needs to be assessed whenreaching a decision as to whether a vessel was used many times.

7 According to some authors, there are no biomarkers available for confirming the presence of beer in ancientresidues. Calcium oxalate detection on potsherds could have resulted from their being buried in calciumoxalate rich soil (Hornsey 2003, p. 92).


Alcoholic fermentation might have been discovered long before the domesticationof plants and animals during the Neolithic. The earliest chemically confirmed alcoholicdrink in the world so far was indeed a mixed fermented beverage of wild grapes, an asyet unidentified Chinese species, or hawthorn fruit (Crataegus sp.), rice (possibly adomesticated variety) and honey. Traces of this fermented beverage were observed inthe case of some potsherds at the Early Neolithic village of Jiahu, in the Yellow RiverValley of China (Henan Province), ca. 7000–6600 BC (McGovern et al. 2004).Similarly, wine may have been produced from wild grapes in the Caucasusregion during the Neolithic, as suggested by the identification of tartaric acid inpottery jars of that period. Analyses of two ceramic vessels, each with avolume of about 9 L, found at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe in the ZagrosMountains of north-western Iran, ca. 5400–5000 BC, showed that they hadcontained a resinated wine 8 with terebinth tree or pine resin added as apreservative and medical agent (McGovern et al. 1996). It has been arguedthat the wild Eurasian grapevine became the object of domestication somewherein the arc of mountains extending from the eastern Taurus across Transcaucasiato the northwestern Zagros, since many archaeological sites from this regionhave provided grape seeds corresponding to the domesticated variety (Vitisvinifera L. subsp. vinifera) (McGovern 2003). It should be noted that accordingto the Bible, Noah allegedly planted the first vineyard on the Mount Ararat,located in the eastern Anatolia region of Turkey (Guerra-Doce 2009; McGovern2009, p. 82).

Not long after the domestication of this species occurred, wine was produced inlarge quantities in specialised facilities, such as the cave complex of Areni 1, aChalcolithic site in south-east Armenia dated to around 4000 BC. Excavations haveunearthed a fully equipped winery consisting of basins that could have served as winepresses where grapes were stomped, and also fermentation vats, storage jars, drinkingbowls and remains of domesticated grapes. This interpretation is based on the detectionin some potsherds of malvidin9, a wine marker that gives grapes and pomegranates theirred color (Barnard et al. 2011). Researchers working on this site consider that winecould have been made for mortuary practices, as 20 burials were found next to thewinemaking facilities and drinking cups have been found inside and around the graves(Areshian et al. 2012).

One of the earliest testimonies of alcohol in Neolithic Europe comes from Iberia. Atthe cave of Can Sadurní, Barcelona, a ceramic vessel recovered in the Early Neolithiclevels dated to the late fifth millennium cal BC provided traces of barley beer, andevidence of malting was found on two grinding stones. It is possible that strawberrytree fruits (Arbutus) were added to the beer in order to facilitate the fermentationprocess and alter the original taste (Blasco et al. 2008). Likewise, some indicatorssuggestive of honey or mead have been documented in a pot from a domestic

8 There is now ample evidence that most ancient grape wines and other fermented beverages were resinatedintentionally, probably to provide antioxidants for preserving the beverage. Any resin used as a sealant camelater; resins used to coat interiors and stoppers represent a much later development (probably eighth centuryBC at the earliest) (McGovern et al. 2013b).9 Malvidin only provides evidence for color, not the natural product source (for this, tartaric acid is paramount)(see McGovern et al. 2013b).

760 Guerra-Doce

occupation underneath the burial levels of the passage grave of Azután, Toledo (Buenoet al. 2005a). From the Neolithic onwards, ca. fifth millennium BC, the occurrence offoodstuffs and alcoholic drinks among the burial offerings will be persistent in thearchaeological record. 10 Funerals became, not unintentionally, important arenas ofpolitical and ideological action where those apparently economically irrational expen-ditures aimed to advertise the success of the surviving family and kin groups who,consequently, endeavoured to consolidate their allies (Hayden 2009). Certainly, resi-dues highly suggestive of fermented beverages have mainly been found in tombsthroughout the whole of prehistoric Europe (Table 1). Assuming that the longer thesubstances remained in the vessels the better the absorption (Regert 2007, p. 63), itseems that the vessels were deposited in the tombs completely filled with alcoholicbeverages.

From the third millennium BC onwards, evidence for fermented beverages becomesincreasingly abundant. At that time, most of the territories of central and westernEurope have in common an assorted assemblage of items consisting of pottery,weapons and ornaments. Among them all, its most distinctive object is a thin-walledceramic vessel with an inverted bell-shape profile. This cultural phenomenon has thusbeen named Bell Beaker after this kind of pot. These artifacts, collectively known as theBeaker package, are principally found in graves and are mostly associated with maleadults. Traditionally, these vessels have been related to the consumption of liquids,hence their name. Professor Vere Gordon Childe, in his seminal work The Dawn ofEuropean Civilization, first brought out in 1925, put forward the idea of beer as one ofthe most suitable candidates for explaining the influence of these pots “as a vodka flaskor a gin bottle would disclose an instrument of European domination in Siberia andAfrica respectively” (Childe 1958, p. 213).

These theories received great attention when archaeologists found a remarkableconcentration of lime tree pollen and other aromatic plants inside a beaker, depositedin a burial cist at Ashgrove, in Scotland, belonging to a male adult. These residues wereinterpreted as mead, a fermented honey drink, made from lime honey and flavouredwith flowers of meadowsweet (Dickson 1978). Consequently, Sherratt (1987) went onto propose a model in which Beakers were used for the consumption of an alcoholicbeverage during the celebration of male drinking rituals, as part of a European patternof warrior feasting and alcohol-based hospitality. He even suggested that the cord-impressed decoration which is distinctive of the AOC varieties might have been madewith fibres of hemp (C. sativa) as a way to celebrate the importance of its intoxicatingproperties. A number of Iberian Beakers from tombs and ritual sites have providedresidues highly suggestive of alcoholic drinks (Delibes et al. 2009; Guerra-Doce2006b), supporting those theories that connect Beakers and alcohol (Fig. 1).

10 Merryn Dineley (2004) upholds that barley beer may have been produced in Neolithic Britain, on the basisof the association of barley grains (some of them malted and barley lipids), level floors, drains and largeGrooved Ware vessels. This pottery style of the British Neolithic comes in many sizes. Some pots areextremely large and would be suitable for fermentation of the wort. Similarly, some Irish archaeologists arguethat the fulacht fiadh—the most common type of prehistoric site in Ireland, which consists of a horseshoe-shaped mound of soil and rocks surrounding a depression—were used primarily for the brewing of beer(Mullally 2012). Yet, for the time being, no solid evidence has been found to establish that these sites wereused to malt, mash or brew beer.


Tab

le1

Organicresidues

suggestiv

eof

ferm

entedbeveragesfrom

prehistoricsitesin

Europe

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

Covade

Can

Sadurní

(Barcelona,S

pain)

Early

Neolithic

(Postcardial)—

5th

millennium

calBC

Dom

estic

occupatio

nandburialplace

Starch

granules

affected

bymalting;

phytolithsof

festucoide

cereals;silicaskeletonsof

barley

(Hordeum

vulgare);oxalate

Beer(Blascoetal.2

008)

Dolmen

deAzután(Toledo,

Spain)

Neolithic—

5thmillennium

calBC

Dom

estic

occupatio

nbeneathamegalith

ictomb

Ceroticacid;pollenfrom

heather(Erica

sp.),C

istus

(Cistaceae)andoaks

(Quercus

sp.);frustulesof

diatom

s

Honey

ormead(Bueno

etal.2

005a)

Barnhouse

(Mainland

Orkney,Scotland)

Neolithic—

4thmillennium

calBC

Settlem

ent

Barleylipids,unidentifiedsugars,b

arkresins,

unidentifiedplantmaterial,cattlemilk

andcattle

meat

Ale(D

ineley

2004;Jones2002)

MachrieMoor(Isleof

Arran,S

cotland)

Neolithic—

3rdmillennium

calBC

Cerem

onialsite

Cerealpollenandmacro

plantremains

Eith

ermeador

ale(D

ineley

and

Dineley

2000)

Refshøjgård

(Folby

parish,

EastJutland,D

enmark)

EarliestSingleGrave

Culture—3rd

millennium

calBC

Grave

Starch

grains

inanon-carbonized

crust

Beer(K

lassen

2008)

Ham

neda

(Sweden)

LateNeolithic—

2nd

millennium

calBC

Stonecist

Pollengrains

ofcereals(H

ordeum

sp.and

Triticumsp.)

androsebaywillow

herb

(Epilobium

angustifoliu

m),

amongothers

Flour,b

read,p

orridge,gruelor

beer

(Lagerås

2000)

Kinloch

Bay

(Islandof

Rhum,S

cotland)

Neolithic—

2ndmillennium

calBC

Settlem

ent

Cereal-type

pollen,

ling(Calluna

vulgaris),royalfern

(Osm

unda

regalis)andmeadowsw

eet(Filipendula

ulmaria)

Ale(W

ickham

Jones1990)

Abrigode

CarlosÁlvarez

(Soria,S

pain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Shelterwith

schematicart

Starch

granules

(Triticeae)

affected

byenzymatic

attack;cerealphytoliths;silicaskeletonsof

wheat

Beer(Rojoetal.2

008)

Calvarid´Amposta

(Tarragona,S

pain)

BellBeaker

(Maritime)—3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Residuessuggestiv

eof

barley

beer;traces

ofthe

alkaloid

hyoscyam

ine

Hallucinogenicbeer

with

theadditio

nof

amem

berof

theSolanaceae

(Fábregas2001)

762 Guerra-Doce

Tab

le1

(contin

ued)

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

LaCalzadilla

(Valladolid,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Ritu

alpitwith

two

human

ribs

with

inPh

ytolith

sof

festucoide


barley

(Hordeum

vulgare);starch

granules

(Triticeae)affected

byenzymaticattack;ceroticacid

Beerwith

honey,mead,

beeswax

appliedas

asealant(G

uerra2006b)

Los

Dolientes

I(Soria,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Settlem

ent

Silicasclereidsof

theRosaceaefamily,p

ossiblywild

pear

(Pyrus)

Pear

jelly,juice

orcider(Rojoetal.

2008)

Lom

ade

laTejería(Teruel,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Miningcamp

Oxalate;starches

alteredby

maltin

gandenzymatic

attack;yeasts;phytolith

sof

cereals(H

ordeum

sp.)

Beerandfruitwine?

(Montero

and

Rodríguez

delaEsperanza

2008)

Peña

delaAbuela(Soria,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Maritime)—3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Starch

granules

affected

byenzymaticattack;cereal

phytoliths;silicaskeletonsof

wheat

Wheatbeer

(Rojoetal.2

006)

PerroAlto

(Fuente

Olm

edo,

Valladolid

,Sp

ain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Starch

granules

affected

byenzymaticattack;phytoliths

offestucoide


wheat

(Triticum

sp.)

Beer(D

elibes

etal.2

009)

Phournou

Koryphe

(Myrtos,Crete)

Early

MinoanIIB

Settlem

ent

Tartaricacid;tree

resin/calcium

oxalate

Resinated

wine/barley

beer

(McG

overnetal.2

008)

Trincones

I(Cáceres,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

(Noindication)

Barleypreparation(beer?)(Bueno

etal.2

010)

Túm

ulode

laSima(Soria,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Maritime)—3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Starches

alteredby

maltingandenzymaticattack;

yeasts;silicaskeletonsof

wheat

Beer(Rojoetal.2

006)

Vallede

lasHigueras

(Toledo,

Spain)

BellBeaker

(Ciempozuelos)—

3rd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Residuessuggestiv

eof

barley

beer

andmead

Beer(Ciempozuelos

bowl)andmead

(plain

bowl)(Bueno

etal.2

005b)


Tab

le1

(contin

ued)

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

Ashgrove(Fife,Scotland)

BellBeaker—

2nd

millennium

calBC

Burialcist

Highproportio

nsof

limetree

pollen(Tiliacordata)

and

pollenfrom

flow

erssuch

asmeadowsw

eet

(Filipendulaulmaria),heather(Calluna),ribw

ort

plantain

(Plantagolanceolata)

Meadmadefrom

limehoneyand

flavouredwith

flow

ersof

meadowsw

eet(D

ickson

1978)

Devesado

Rei(LaCoruña,

Spain)

BellBeaker—

2nd

millennium

calBC

Cerem

onialsite

Ceroticacid;pollenfrom

heather(Erica

sp.),C

istus

(Cistaceae)andoaks

(Quercus

sp.);frustulesof

diatom

s

Honey

ormead(Prietoetal.2

005)

AFo

rxa(O

rense,Sp

ain)

Early

BronzeAge—2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Oxalate;starches

affected

bymaltingandenzymatic

attack;yeasts;cerealphytolith

sBeer(Prietoetal.2

005)

Apodoulou

(Crete)

MiddleMinoan

Settlem

ent

Tartaricacid

Resinated

wine(M

cGovernetal.2

008)

Monastiraki(Crete)

MiddleMinoan

Palatialcentre

Tartaricacid;pine

resin

Resinated

wine(M

cGovernetal.2

008)

FuenteÁlamo(A

lmería,

Spain)

ElArgar

culture—2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Tartrates

Grape/pom

egranatewine

(Juan-Tresserras2004)

North

Mains

(Strathallan,

Perthshire,S

cotland)

BronzeAge

(food

vessel)—

2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Highpercentagesof

Filipendula(m

eadowsw

eet)

pollenandrelativ

elyhigh

percentagesof

cerealia

pollen

Eith

eraporridge

ofcereals(e.g.

frum

enty)or

aferm

entedale,

flavouredwith

meadowsw

eet

flow

ersor

extract(Barclay

1983)

Kastelli

(Chania,Crete)

LateMinoanIA

Palace

complex

Tartaricacid;resin;

beeswax

Mixed

ferm

entedbeverage

orresinated

wine(M

cGovernetal.2

008)

Splanzia(Chania,Crete)

LateMinoanIA

Cultarea

Tartaricacid;calcium

oxalate;ferm

entedhoney?

Resinated

wine,mead,

barley

beer

(McG

overnetal.2

008)

Covade

Can

Sadurní

(Barcelona,S

pain)

MiddleBronzeAge—mid

2ndmillennium

calBC

Dom

estic

occupatio

nStarch

granules

affected

byenzymaticattack;phytoliths

offestucoide


barley

(Hordeum

vulgare);yeasts;frustulesof

diatom

s

Beer(Blascoetal.2

008)

Prats(Canillo,

Andorra)

MiddleBronzeAge

Ritu

alpit

Starches

(Triticeae)

affected

byenzymaticattack;

silicaskeletonsof

emmer

(Triticum

turgidum

subsp.

diccoco);yeasts;calcium

oxalate

Beer(Y

áñez

etal.2

001–2002)

764 Guerra-Doce

Tab

le1

(contin

ued)

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

Arm

enoi

(Crete)

LateMinoanIIIA

–BCem

etery

Calcium

oxalate;beeswax;tartaricacid

Mixed

ferm

entedbeverage

(McG

overn

etal.2

008)

Egtved(D

enmark)

BronzeAge—late2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Cow

berries(orcranberries),g

rainsof

wheat,g

landular

hairfrom

bogmyrtle,p

ollengrains

from

limetree,

meadowsw

eet,whiteclover

Com

binatio

nof

beer

andfruitwine,

with

theadditio

nof

honeyto

make

itstronger

(Thomsen1929)

Bregninge

(Islandof

Zealand,D

enmark)

BronzeAge—late2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Pollenfrom

lime,meadowsw

eet,whiteclover,v

arious

Com

positaeandknotgrass

Honey

ormead(N

ielsen

1988)

Mycenae

(Mainland

Greece)

LateHelladicA–B

Citadel

Tartaricacid;tartrate;tree

resin/cerotic

acid;oxalate;

tartaricacid

Resinated

wine/barley

beer

(McG

overn

etal.2

008)

Nandrup

(Islandof

Mors,

Denmark)

BronzeAge—late2nd

millennium

calBC

Burial

Pollenfrom

limetree

(Tiliacordata)

andmeadowsw

eet

(Filipendulaulmaria);whiteclover

Mead(Broholm

andHald1939)

Chamalevri(Crete)

LateMinoanIIIC1

Settlem

ent

Tartaricacid/tartrate;tree

resin

Mixed

ferm

entedbeverage

(McG

overn

etal.2

008)

Genó(Lérida,Sp

ain)

LateBronzeAge

Settlem

ent

Starches

alteredby

maltin

gandenzymaticattack;silica

skeletonsof

barley

(Hordeum

vulgare)

andem

mer

wheat(Triticum

dicoccum

)yeasts;frustulesof

diatom

s;lactobacteria

Beer(M

ayaetal.1

998)

Kostræde

(Islandof

Zealand,D

enmark)

LateBronzeAge—(ca.

1100–500

BC)

Hoard

from

apit

Tartaricacid/tartrate;honey;

birchandpine

tree

resins

Imported

wine;mead(M

cGovernetal.

2013a)

Alto

delaCruz(N

avarra,

Spain)

Iron

Age

Settlem

ent

Starch

granules

(Triticeae)

alteredby

maltingand

enzymaticattack;yeasts

Beer(Juan-Tresserras1997)

Hochdorf(G

ermany)

Iron

Age

(Hallstatt)—6th

centuryBC

Buriala

Large

quantitiesof

pollenfrom

anumberof

flow

ering

herbs,mostly

thym

eandotherplantsof

open

countryside

Freshlymade,unfilteredmead

(Körber-Grohne1985)

Hohmichele-H

euneburg

(Germany)

Iron

Age

(Hallstatt)—6th

centuryBC

Burial

Large

quantitiesof

pollenfrom

plantswith

nectar-yieldingflow

ers;honey

Meador

amixed

drinkcontaining

honey(Rösch

1999)


Tab

le1

(contin

ued)

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

Pfarrholz(K

asendorf,

Germany)

Iron

Age

(Hallstatt)

Burial

Black

wheataleflavouredwith

oakleaves

Black

ale(A

bels1986)

Niedererlbach

(Germany)

Iron

Age

(LateHallstatt)

Burial

Highpollendiversity

:abundanceof

Filipendula,

Centaurea

jaceatype,M

enthatype,H

ypericum

andTh

ymus

Highlyconcentrated,freshly

prepared

mead(Rösch

2005)

ElSo

lejón(Soria,S

pain)

Iron

Age

Settlement

Starches

affected

byenzymaticattack;y

easts;frustules

ofdiatom

s;lactobacteria

Beer(M

ayaetal.1

998)

Glauberg1(G

ermany)

Iron

Age

(LaTène

A)—

5thcenturyBC

Burial

Large

quantitiesof

pollenfrom

plantswith

nectar-yieldingflow

ers;honey

Freshmeadof

agood

strength

(Bartel

etal.1

997)

Glauberg2(G

ermany)

Iron

Age

(LaTène

A)—

5thcenturyBC

Burial

Large

quantitiesof

pollenfrom

plantswith

nectar-yieldingflow

ers;honey

Unidentifiedliquidsw

eetenedwith

honeyor

anoldmeadstored

inthe

pitcher(Barteletal.1

997)

AlordaPark

oLes

Toixoneres

(Tarragona,

Spain)

Iberian

Settlem

ent

Starch

granules;phytolith

sof

festucoide

cereals;silica

skeletonsof

barley

(Hordeum

vulgare);yeasts;

oxalate;diatom

s;lactobacteria


Iesso(Lérida,Sp

ain)

Iberian

Settlem

ent

Yeasts;oxalate

Beer(G

uitartetal.1

998)

Mas

Castelar(G

erona,

Spain)

Iberian

Sanctuary

Starches

alteredby

maltingandtheenzymaticattack;

oxalate;yeasts;lactobacteria;diatom

s;ergot

(Claviceps

sp.)


Torrelló

delBoverot

(Castelló

n,Sp

ain)

Iberian

Settlem

ent

Starch

granules

alteredby

maltin

gandenzymatic

attack;yeasts;phytolith

s;oxalate

Beer(Clauselletal.2000)

VendrellMar

oLes

Guàrdies(Tarragona,

Spain)

Iberian

Settlem

ent

Starches

alteredby

maltingandtheenzymaticattack;

oxalate;yeasts;lactobacteria;diatom

sBeer(Juan-Tresserras1997)

Carralaceña

(Valladolid,

Spain)

Vaccean

Burial

Starch

granules

(Triticeae)

affected

byenzymatic

attack;silicaskeletonsof

barley

(Hordeum

vulgare

L.);oxalate;yeasts

Beer(SanzandVelasco

2003)

766 Guerra-Doce

Tab

le1

(contin

ued)

Site

Period

Context

Residues

Interpretation

Las

Ruedas(Valladolid,

Spain)

Vaccean—2ndcenturyBC

Cem

etery

Starch

granules

(Triticeae)

affected

byenzymatic

attack;silicaskeletonsof

barley

(Hordeum

vulgare

L.);oxalate;yeasts;hyoscyam

ine/glucose,cerotic

acid,tartratecrystals

Beerandahallucinogenicbeer

with

theadditio

nof

amem

berof

the

Solanaceae

(SanzandVelasco

2003)

aExcavations

atthesettlem

entof

Eberdingen-Hochdorfhave

foundaspecialised

ditchstructure,datin

gbetween540and510BC,w

here

largenumbersof

evenly

germ

inated

hulled

barley

grains

andonlyafewfindsof

otherusefulplantswererecovered.Thisditchmay

have

been

used

forgerm

inationand/or

asadrying

kilnforroastingthemalt.Thissuggeststhe

existenceof

aCeltic

brew

erythere(Stik

a1996,2011).S

imilarevidence(aconcentrationof

carbonized

barley

grains

closetoahearthandan

oven)from

ahouseatthefifth-centuryBC

siteof

Roquepertuse(Velaux,

Bouches-du-Rhône,F

rance)

isalso

relatedto

beer-brewing(Bouby

etal.2

011)


It seems that fermented beverages were not exclusively for adult males, since thereare Bronze Age female burials containing brewing residues. In a burial cist excavated ata timber circle and henge at North Mains, Strathallan, Perthshire, Scotland, a foodvessel—a pottery type of the British Isles during the Early Bronze Age—was lying bythe body of a 25-year-old woman. Residues adhering to its surface revealed a highpercentage of Filipendula (meadowsweet) pollen and relatively high percentages ofcerealia pollen. This has been interpreted as either a porridge of cereals (e.g. frumenty)or a fermented ale, flavoured with meadowsweet flowers (Barclay 1983). Inside abirch-bark bucket deposited in the grave of a young woman, aged 18–20 years, inEgtved, Denmark, ca. 1370 BC (Thomsen 1929), the presence was detected ofcowberries/cranberries, grains of wheat, glandular hair from bog myrtle and a collectionof pollen grains from lime trees and other plants. These residues point to a combinationof beer and fruit wine, with the addition of honey to make it stronger (Koch 2003, p.129). Some Danish male burials from the same period show similar traces. In addition,residues representative of mead have been found in a male burial at Nandrup, on theisland of Mors, in Jutland (Broholm and Hald 1939), as well as in the grave of anotherman at Bregninge, on Zealand (Nielsen 1988). Recently, the importation of grape winefrom southern or central Europe as early as the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1100–500 BC)has been chemically attested. A bronze strainer from a pit at Kostræde, Denmark, hasrevealed traces of a hybrid beverage or “grog”, containing wine, honey, local herbs andresins (McGovern et al. 2013a).

Alcoholic drinks are thought to have been consumed only on special occasions, suchas ritual feasts or funerary ceremonies, which helped reinforce social relations andconsolidate political power (Arnold 1999; Dietler 1990). By the beginning of the firstmillennium BC, when wine had already become a luxury product outside the ClassicalWorld, cereal-based drinks and mead had a great deal of significance for the Celts. This

Fig. 1 Ciempozuelos Beaker bowl from La Calzadilla (Almenara de Adaja, Valladolid, Spain) containingbeeswax and traces of cereals (Guerra-Doce 2006b), above; Ciempozuelos Beaker carinated bowl or cazuelafrom the burial pit at Perro Alto (Fuente Olmedo, Valladolid, Spain) containing residues suggestive of beer(Delibes et al. 2009), below. Both date to the late third millennium BC

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illustrates the existence of two drinking ideologies11 of ancient Europe (Nelson 2005).Indeed, mead was deposited in several princely tombs of the Iron Age all over CentralEurope (Koch 2003), and beer has been found in singular ceramic types belonging toprominent individuals at some Pre-Roman cemeteries. A highly unusual fermentedbeverage, which combined grape wine, barley beer and honey mead was detected insome of the bronze vessels deposited in the royal tomb known as the Midas tumulus, atPhrygian capital city of Gordion, Turkey, dating to around 750–700 BC (McGovernet al. 1999). One of the most impressive examples comes from the Hallstatt princelywagon burial of a 40-year-old male, dated to around 530 BC, at Hochdorf, nearStuttgart, where an enormous bronze cauldron imported from Greece was depositedin the grave chamber, containing 350 L of mead12 (Körber-Grohne 1985). The residuesare similar to those from vessels at other funerary sites. This may be interpreted asevidence of the traditional role played by beer and mead in the burial ceremonies ofprehistoric societies, or at least, of the upper class people.

Psychoactive Alkaloids in Archaeological Artefacts and Skeletal Remainsfrom Prehistoric Times

The third line of evidence refers to psychoactive alkaloids. Alkaloids can be defined asnitrogen-containing organic compounds, found primarily in plants, which have impor-tant physiological and pharmacological effects on humans and other animals. Someexamples include morphine, nicotine, caffeine and ephedrine. Thus, alkaloid-bearingplants have been exploited as medicinal and psychoactive agents since prehistorictimes. These compounds can survive in the archaeological artefacts involved in thepreparation and consumption of the plants containing them, as well as in the skeletalremains (bones, teeth, tissues, hair) of past populations that used them (Balanova et al.1992, 1995; Bruhn et al. 2002; Cartmell et al. 1991, 1994; El-Seedi et al. 2005; Ogaldeet al. 2009; Oxenham et al. 2002; Rafferty 2002; van der Merwe 1975; Zagorevski andLoughmiller-Newman 2012).

Usually, the identification of alkaloids in the archaeological record combines gaschromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or applies high-performance liquidchromatography (HPLC) (Rafferty 2007); however, other techniques, such as radioim-munoassay (Balanova et al. 1996) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

11 References to the fondness of Celtic peoples for mead and beer are indeed provided by many Classicalwriters (Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Dioscorides, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Tacitus, among others). Thesereferences are very one-sided in their evaluation of Celtic beverages, showing a prejudice against beer (Nelson2005). It has been suggested that wine progressively replaced mead as the élite drink of choice (Arnold 1999,p. 75). Apparently, wealthy classes, emulating the Greek custom of the symposium, consumed imported winefrom the Mediterranean, whilst lower classes drank local mead and beer, at least among the Gauls and othertribes dwelling near to the Rhine or Danube. In contrast, Germanic tribes in northern Europe “on no accountpermit wine to be imported to them, because they consider that men degenerate in their powers of enduringfatigue, and are rendered effeminate by that commodity” according to Julius Caesar in his description of theGallic Wars (Book IV, 2). Certainly, that area, in what is now Belgium, Germany and north-eastern France, isstill reputed to brew some of the finest beers in the world. However, the importance of beer among the Celtsdeclined as the Romans gained political and cultural hegemony over them (Nelson 2005).12 This cauldron reminds the impressive bronze krater found in the grave of the Lady of Vix, at Côte-d´Or, butin this case it was likely to have been used for wine mixing (Joffroy 1962).


(Báez et al. 2000) can also be used. Whilst a number of prehistoric samples from theOld World have been analysed in search of alkaloids, the results have not always beenpositive or have even led to controversial consequences (Balanova et al. 1992; Bissetet al. 1994; Hobmeier and Parsche 1994; Parsche et al. 1993). Thus, the analysesconducted by Balanova and Schultz (1994) on skeletal remains of the second phase ofthe Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPNB) from Turkey and Jordan have failed to detectnicotine. Conversely, the presence of this alkaloid has been confirmed in human bonescorresponding to eight individuals of a Bell Beaker group from Southern Germany,dating to the middle of the third millennium BC (Parsche et al. 1993). Likewise, asimilar analysis on skeletal remains from the Early Bronze Age cemetery atFranzhausen, Austria, has revealed the consumption of nicotine-containing plantswithin this group (Balanova and Teschler-Nicola 1994).

By the second millennium BC, there is a considerable amount of informationregarding the cultivation of the opium poppy and its ritual use in the EasternMediterranean (Askitopoulou et al. 2002; Merlin 1984). On the basis of the distributionof certain juglets corresponding to Base-ring ware from their homeland in Cyprus toEgypt and Levant, a highly developed trade in a liquid opium preparation has beeninferred. These hand-made vessels, dated to the Late Bronze Age, ca. 1500 BC, haveglobular bodies, tall necks and handles, and some are decorated with vertical ridges orwhite lines. It has been suggested that these juglets imitate the shape of an invertedopium poppy capsule (as a way to announce the contents), and their decorationrepresents the knife incisions made on actual poppy heads to allow opium latex toooze out for collection (Merrillees 1962). Indeed, traces of opium alkaloids have beenreported on some potsherds corresponding to Base-ring ware (Bisset et al. 1996;Koschel 1996; Merrillees 1968), and recently, analyses conducted on two sealedBase-ring juglets at the British Museum have revealed similar contents (Chovanecet al. 2012).

At approximately that time, the Argaric period, named after the type site of El Argar,at Antas, Almería, in south-eastern Spain, was one of the most important Bronze Agecultures in Iberia. Argaric tombs are indicative of a ranked society on the basis of theircontents, with elite burials including rich grave goods (bronze weapons and ornaments,silver and gold pieces and specific drinking cups), and other burials devoid of anyobject at all (Lull 1983). The cemetery of Fuente Álamo, near Cuevas de Almanzora,Almería, one of the most representative sites of this culture, has provided traces ofopiates in tombs corresponding to the elite group. Organic residue analyses havedetected opium in a vessel deposited in the burial cist of a man, as well as in a similarvessel belonging to a woman buried within a pithos, associated with opium poppyseeds (Schubart et al. 2004).

Residue analyses carried out on some Iberian potsherds have identifiedhyoscyamine, a highly hallucinogenic alkaloid present in some members ofthe Solanaceae family, in several archaeological contexts. The excavation of aMiddle Bronze Age ritual pit at Prats, Canillo, Andorra, brought to light fivepots containing residues of beer, charred capsules of jimsonweed (Daturastramonium) and dairy products. Moreover, residue analyses on some potsherdshave detected the alkaloid hyoscyamine, suggesting that these vessels were usedfor the preparation of an alcoholic drink with hallucinogenic properties (Yáñezet al. 2001–2002).

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The identification of this alkaloid has also been reported in the Neolithic shelter ofPedra Cavada, near Gondomar, Pontevedra, Spain, possibly dated to the fourth millen-nium BC. There are many cup-marks and basins at this site, with one of the lattercontaining traces of hyoscyamine (Fábregas 2001, pp. 63–64), although a moderncontamination cannot be discarded (Tresserras, personal communication, March2003). In the burial cave of Calvari d’Amposta (Tarragona, Spain), one of theMaritime Beakers, ca. middle of the third millennium BC, deposited in one of the fiveundisturbed graves located inside, revealed the presence of the alkaloid hyoscyamineand traces of beer (Fábregas 2001, pp. 63-64). The same combination, beer and someSolanaceae species containing hyoscyamine, has been detected in a kernos—a ritualvase of Greek origin, with many small bowls for multiple offerings—deposited inone of the most luxurious tombs in the Vaccean cemetery of Las Ruedas, Padilla deDuero, Valladolid, Spain, dated to the second century BC (Sanz and Velasco 2003).Therefore, this hallucinogenic drink consisting of beer and drug plants played asignificant role during the burial rites and ceremonial events of the prehistoric societiesin Iberia.

Artistic Depictions of Psychoactive Plant Species

Iconographic representations are another source of evidence to illustrate the use ofpsychoactive substances in the past. Drinking scenes can be discerned in the art ofancient civilisations (especially Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek and Etruscan).Considering the contexts and the typology of the vessels themselves, alcohol wassupposedly involved. However, the identity of the beverages cannot be determinedfor certain. Likewise, it has been claimed that the inspiration behind some of the artistictraditions in prehistoric Europe was associated with altered states of consciousness,often induced by psychotropic agents. These theories are based on the principle that theneurological structure of the brain of our species (Homo sapiens) has remainedunchanged since the Palaeolithic; consequently, the abstract patterns and visual hallu-cinations created under altered states of consciousness—known as phosphenes orentoptic phenomena—are universal, since they are effects of the central nervoussystem. This idea has been applied to the study of the Upper Palaeolithic art (Clottesand Lewis-Williams 1998; Lewis-Williams 1997, 2002, 2004; Lewis-Williams andClottes 1998; Lewis-Williams and Dowson 1988; Lorblanchet and Sieveking 1997), aswell as to a number of artistic traditions dated to the Neolithic and Bronze Age (Bradley1989; Budja 2004; Dronfield 1993, 1995a, b, 1996; Fairén and Guerra-Doce 2005;Guerra-Doce 2006a; Lewis Williams and Dowson 1993; Lewis-Williams and Pearce2005; Patton 1990; Stahl 1989).

Certain motifs have been interpreted to represent the fly agaric (A. muscaria), asproposed by Dikov (1972) for certain petroglyphs of the Pegtymel area in Siberia,Kaplan (1975) for some Scandinavian rock art and Samorini (1998) for the engravingsof Mount Bego, in the Alpine region. The mushroom-like pictographs depicted in theSelva Pascuala mural paintings, at Villar del Humo (Cuenca, Spain), corresponding tothe Iberian schematic tradition, may also represent hallucinogenic fungi, possiblyPsilocybe hispanica (Akers et al. 2011). These theories imply the ritual use ofpsychotropic mushrooms. Similarly, a correlation between cup-marks—semi-sphericalcavities carved onto rocky outcrops by Neolithic and Bronze Age people—and the


ritual use of the hallucinogenic fly agaric has been observed by Gosso (2010). Heexplains these abstract designs of the Italian Alps in northwest Piedmont as altars whereritual cults involving the consumption of the psychotropic mushroom took place.

Many archaeological items from the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean (ca.1600–1100 BC) are thought to imitate the shape of unripe opium poppy capsules(Askitopoulou et al. 2002; Kritikos and Papadaki 1967a, b; Merlin 1984) or, accordingto other opinions, the pomegranate fruit. Whilst the interpretation of some of theseartefacts is still a matter of debate, others are clearly connected to the ritual use of theopium poppy.

The Late Bronze Age on Mainland Greece, locally known as Late Helladicperiod, is represented by the Mycenaean civilisation, named after the celebratedarchaeological site of Mycenae. During the excavations conducted by H.Schliemann in the acropolis of Mycenae, a golden signet ring (ca. 1450 BC)depicting a religious scene was recovered (Nilsson 1927, p. 347). A seatedgoddess is receiving an offering of three opium poppy capsules from a femaledevotee, whilst two other female worshippers hold lilies and flowers, respec-tively. The scene also includes a number of religious symbols of Minoan origin,such as the double axe, the palladium (a statuette with a figure-of-eight shield)or animal skulls. The Mycenaean world offers similar religious scenes contain-ing representations of opium poppy heads on other golden signet rings, asoccurs in two examples from a hoard at Thisbe (Evans 1925).

One of the most illustrating depictions of the opium poppy associated withritual practices is found in the Minoan civilisation. Conventionally, Minoanfemale deities are portrayed as bare-breasted figurines with upraised arms. In1937, in a subterranean secret room of a cult chamber at Gazi, near Knossos,on Crete, dated to the Late Minoan III period (1300–1250 BC), a largeterracotta goddess figurine (height 78 cm) bearing on its head three movablehairpins in the shape of poppy capsules was discovered (Fig. 2). The poppyheads on the “Poppy Goddess”, as it has come to be known, display verticalnotches which suggest the method of extracting opium. Moreover, the figurinehas a trance-like facial expression, possibly induced by the inhalation of opiumfumes; as a result, the excavator of this site named her “Goddess of ecstasy”(Marinatos 1937). Certainly, it should be emphasized that the same contextyielded a terracotta tubular vase and a number of charcoals, indicating theinhalation of opium vapours (Kritikos and Papadaki 1967a). All of this evi-dence therefore suggests that opium was a sacred drug in the Minoan civilisa-tion, since it was used to induce trances in the course of ritual ceremonies(Askitopoulou et al. 2002).

Discussion

The contextual analysis of the archaeological record of prehistoric Europe reveals thefrequent association of psychoactive substances with burial and ceremonial contexts.We cannot be sure whether they were consumed in the course of the mortuary rites, ifthey provided sustenance for the deceased in their journey into the afterlife or if theywere a kind of tribute to the underworld deities. It can be argued, however, that

772 Guerra-Doce

inebriants were reserved for specific events, in which they were consumed in order toalter the usual state of consciousness or even to achieve a trance state.13

As occurs nowadays in our contemporary society, ethnographic accounts show thatimportant events require the consumption of special items that are the most expensive,the rarest or the most labour intensive to produce (Dietler and Hayden 2001). Alcoholicdrinks frequently have a prominent role on such occasions, since “they are essentiallyfood with certain psychoactive properties resulting from an alternative means ofpreparation that tend to amplify their significance in the important dramaturgical

Fig. 2 The Poppy Goddess from Gazi, Crete (Guerra-Doce 2006a)

13 It has even been claimed that the origins of spiritual concepts and religious beliefs have been shaped by aninnate emotional foundation in humans, which consists of the ability to enter into ecstatic states by means of anumber of techniques (Bourguignon 1973; Hayden 2003; La Barre 1990). An excellent case can be made foralcoholic beverages and psychoactive plants having had a deep impact on human culture (Guerra 2006a;McGovern 2009).


aspects of ritual. Moreover, this property of fermentation as a quasi-magical transfor-mation of food into a substance that, in turn, transforms human consciousness aug-ments the symbolic value of alcohol in the common liminal aspects of rituals” (Dietler2001, pp. 72–73). Likewise, drug plants have played a similar role; hence, they areconsidered to be “Plants of the Gods” (Schultes and Hofmann 1979). In most small-scale societies, alcoholic drinks are not part of daily meals, and mood-altering plants arenot consumed for hedonistic purposes. Consequently, many preindustrial societies haveintegrated psychoactive substances into their beliefs and institutionalized their use tothe point where communication with the spiritual world is impossible without them.

Their effects might have been attractive for individuals in small communities or insocieties where political power is in the process of formation, since these substances arepowerful tools of access to esoteric knowledge and communication with other worlds(Sherratt 1995, p. 16). Given that they were a means to connect with the spirit worldand, as a result, played a sacred role among prehistoric societies in Europe, the right tomake use of them may have been regulated. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that mostof the evidence derives from both elite burials and restricted ceremonial sites, suggest-ing the possibility that the consumption of mind-altering products was socially con-trolled in prehistoric Europe.

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