Beer in Israel and the Ancient Near East: New Insights from Archaeology

Jennie Ebeling, University of Evansville

Beer, along with bread and other grain-based foods, was a dietary staple in the ancient Near East and Egypt. Safer to drink than water due to alcohol's ability to kill harmful bacteria, most ancient beer was made by women at home as an offshoot of household bread production. Although past researchers have focused more on wine than beer due to wine's economic and ritual importance (and the modern western belief that drinking wine is more 'civilized' than drinking beer), recent studies have pushed back the date of the earliest beer production by thousands of years and revealed the widespread consumption of beer through the Bronze and Iron Ages.
 
This lecture presents an overview of the textual, artistic, and archaeological evidence for beer in ancient Near Eastern cultures and the recent research that is transforming our understanding of beer's importance in ancient Israel.
 
Jennie Ebeling is Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Evansville and was the Co-Director of the Jezreel Expedition

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