Beer stimulated the development of early civilizations because it encouraged the formation of agricultural societies and it prompted certain innovations that had positive impacts in certain aspects of said civilizations. In A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage argues that “...once beer had been discovered, there was a greater desire to ensure the availability of grain by deliberate farming, rather than relying on wild grains” (21.) Although there is no conclusive evidence to prove the extent to which beer stimulated agriculture, it played significant roles in the social, religious, and eventually economic structure of society, which could explain the ravenous efforts made to harvest and ferment it. Aside from laying the foundation for populated civilizations through agriculture, beer also had an influence in the innovations of writing, currency, social classes, and politics. As Standage states, “The earliest written documents are Sumerian wage lists and tax receipts, in which the symbol for beer... is one of the most common words” (30.) Indeed, the importance of beer as it relates to its use as a currency prompted the development of the writing system, which made the economic structure of the Sumerian society more organized and efficient. Additionally, the use of beer as a currency allowed for the distribution of it among citizens, which served to create a distinction between those of higher and lower classes. According to Standage, “In Mesopotamia, cuneiform records indicate that the lowest-ranking members of the Sumerian workforce were issued a sila of beer a day... as their ration. Junior officials were given two sila, higher officials and ladies of the court three sila, and the highest officials five sila.” (35.) On the topic of social hierarchy, it is also worth noting that the period following the introduction of beer into Neolithic societies was the first instance of power being saturated into the hands of few. In the words of Standage, “...as villages grew into towns and then cities, more and more power was concentrated into [the priests’] hands” (31.) This period arguably set a precedent for other developing societies in assigning monetary value to positions of authority. In this case, the storage and distribution of beer at the discretion of the priests. In conclusion, beer had many significant implications for early civilizations that are evident to this day. It assisted in the development of organized economic, political, and social structures that had not previously existed in the history of mankind.
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