Israeli researchers have recently discovered the first evidence of social beer consumption following a find of cereal grains used to produce alcohol in a 7,000 year old town. This discovery marks the earliest known instance of social drinking in the Levant prior to its spread in the bronze age, ca 3300 BCE.
     The university's Prof. Danny Rosenberg said the evidence for beer production joins "the evidence we've previously uncovered of Tel Tsaf's prosperity, expressed in its accumulation of agricultural produce, and particularly cereal, in large quantities. We can imagine Tsaf's developing community holding largescale events in which large quantities of food and beer are consumed in a social context - and not just in a ceremonial context."
     While there is older evidence of beer production at a Natufian burial site, this beer was apparently only used as part of the burial rituals at the site placed in Mount Camel. While beer production and consumption may have taken place since the Natufian period, the evidence for it is hard to come by.
     "It's unknown at the moment whether the beer whose remnants we found in Tel Tsaf was produced on a regular basis or specifically for major social events," Rosenberg said. "We hope that in the near future, when we can isolate further evidence of beer production at the site and at other sites, we will be able to better understand the role of alcohol in ancient societies, and particularly in those that - as in Tel Tsaf - were on the cusp of significant changes in their social structure as it became more and more complex."

Edited from Times of Israel (21 December 2021), The Independent (22 December 2021)