Lecture 18 Alcohol Flashcards
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Domestication
is defined by the relationship,not the outcome
- sustained multigenerational, mutualistic relationship
- one organism assumes a significant degree of influence over the reproduction
- and care of another organism in order to secure a more predictable supply of a resource of interest,
DOMESTICATION VS MUTUALISM
Mutualism - Both species benefit:
* Plants/animals increase reproductive fitness
* Humans gain predictable resource base
Domestication is ‘goal-oriented’ – Initiated and sustained by humans
* Choice of particular variants
* Continue, intensify, or leave the relationships
* Consciously manipulate partner species
MOTIVATIONS FOR
DOMESTICATION
Food
Surplus
Commodity
Cultural importance
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Psychoactive drug (or psychotropic): Chemical substance that crosses blood-brain barrier affecting brain function, perception, mood, consciousness, cognition and/or behaviour.
- Depressants
- Narcotics
- Hallucinogens
- Stimulants
direct pathway!!!
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
-
Depressants: Inhibit function of central nervous system, causing drowsiness, relaxation, decreased
inhibition, anesthesia, sleep, coma, death.
Alcohol, barbiturates, Benzodiazepines -
Narcotics: Compounds with potent analgesic effects, and significant alteration of mood and
behavior
Opiates, Kava -
Stimulants: Increase activity in the brain, temporarily elevating alertness, mood, and awareness.
Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines (Khat - Catha edulis) -
Hallucinogens: affect thinking, alter moods, cognition and perception.
Cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline (peyote cactus), native tobacco, belladona
ALCOHOLS
Beverages containing ethanol, produced by the anaerobic conversion of simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide (CO2)
“Organic” alcohols: alcohol content dependent on quantity of sugar in ingredients
* Grains, fruit, honey, millet, rice, corn, sugarcane, manioc, agave, etc.
Organic alcohols produced globally since the Neolithic
* Çatalhöyük, wine residues (5,500BC) ; Sumeria, Beer manufacture (2,500BC);
Mesoamerica, Pulque (200AD)
- Important source of clean liquid and calories (sugars) - reason to brew them since neolithic period
ALCOHOLS
Distilled alcohols: concentration of alcohol content through heating (78.3°C)
First distilled by Greek alchemists (Ambix)
Developed ca. 800-1300AD in Eurasia for consumption
Aqua vitae first non-medicinal brandy ca.1300AD
Aged to reduce fusel oils, and impart colourand flavour (18C)
TRACKING PRODUCTION &
CONSUMPTION
Archaeological evidence (material culture)
* Specialized drinking vessels
* Presses, stills, vats, casks,
Iconographic/Historic evidence
* Imagery, paintings, ceramics
* Historic documentation
Botanical evidence
* Plant macro and microremains
(starches, pollen, phytoliths)
Biomolecular evidence
* DNA analysis, organic residue analysis
ALCOHOL PRODUCTION IN CHINA
Globular jars appear ca. 9,000-7,000 BP
Large variation in ingredients
* Microscopic evidence of broomcorn millet, Job’s tears, rice
* Mixed with gourd root, yam, lily, ginger- medicinal?
Different brewing methods
* Malting millet, using herb ‘starters’
VITICULTURE AND WINE-MAKING
Origins in Near East (Neolithic Anatolia)
* Pottery ca. 7000BP, Hajji Firuz, N. Zagros.
Wild or domestic grapes (Vitis vinifera)
Spread to Assyria, Mesopotamia, Babylon
* Luxury item for Bronze age elites
Established in Egypt by 5000 BP
Spread throughout SW Asia and
Mediterranean by 3000 BP
Combined archaeobotany and residue analysis at the site of Dikili Tash, Greece (4300BC) demonstrates Neolithic wine-making in the northern Aegean
TRACKING WINE VARIETIES
Grape vines are vegetatively propagated, producing clonal varieties for wine
DNA of 28 grape seeds from archaeological sites in France
Roman grapes closely related to cultivars used for winemaking today: syrah, pinot noir
One ~1100AD grape was identical to
modern Sauvignon blanc
BEER & ALE
Neolithic: brewing barley begins
Early Medieval (400-800AD):
Monasteries
Late Medieval(800-1500): Craft breweries & Inns; hop use begins,start to be more used in social settings
Post-Medieval/Modern (post-1500AD): hops widespread; expansion of breweries; bottling; lager.
starches and cooking
- wheat and barley can see change in mophology , it can happen really fast,boiling time
CHICHA IN SOUTH AMERICA
Chicha: Fermented drink made from maize or other starchy plants
Refreshment and nutrition
* Moderate to low alcohol
* Family production, daily beverage
Essential component of local and community rituals;
Powerful symbol of Indigenous
identity
CHICHA
inka period
Inca chicha brewed by “chosen women” (aqlla) in administrative centres
State controlled breweries and distribution; mit’a (labour tax)
Served in displays of hospitality to laborers and elites
Archaeological evidence: Brewing tools and vessels, by-
products (e.g. strained mash), and features (e.g., hearths, pits for germinating grain); kero (specialised cups)
INFERRING CHICHA CONSUMPTION
- people use chincha for cooking
- can track using isotopy maze is a C4 plant (high Carbon)
- found that a lot of people in those area were consuming a lot of maze, and using ceramic and other things they infer they were drinking chicha
NARCOTICS
▪ Potent analgesic effects
▪ Significant alteration of mood and behaviour
▪ High potential for dependence and tolerance
POPPY (PAPAVAR SOMNIFERUM)
Annual herbaceous plant found
throughout the entire Mediterranean region
Domesticated for oil rich seed and opiate source
Alkaloids: morphine, codeine,
thebaine concentrated in latex.
ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Wild poppy seeds 8000-7,500BP, Atlit Yam, Isreal
Domesticated form in Italy (La Marmotta), 7,750-7,150BP (seed retained in capsule – food?)
Spread throughout Europe by Bronze age
** ‘Second circle’ domestication** – i.e. not in Fertile Crescent but likely western Mediterranean
LATE BRONZE AGE (1300-1000 BC)
Used as a narcotic and sedative in Egypt (Amenhotep III)
Minoan shrine on Crete dedicated
to the “poppy goddess” of fertility
and health
Sumerian texts describe the “plant
of happiness”
Ancient Greece – associated with
Demeter and Persephone
LAUDANUM
In the 16C, Paracelsus combined
opium with distilled water and alcohol
to make ‘wine of opium’ or laudanum
Widespread availability in the 18-19C
– “aspirin of the 19C”
Cure all for common ailments:
gonorrhea, gastrointestinal conditions,
rheumatism, menstrual pain, nervous
delirium, delirium tremens, insomnia,
cardiac disease, soothing infants,
neonatal opiate withdrawal, cholera,
and even work or social stress
n 1898, the Bayer Co. introduced heroin, which they believed to be a non-addictive opiate with analgesic properties superior to morphine, and
cough suppressant properties superior to codeine
KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM)
Polynesian origin (Republic of
Vanuatu)
Kavalactones: sedative, anesthetic,
and euphoriant
Medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social purposes
