iQhilika, African mead
- Thread starter JamesP
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I got an article from an African Meadery about a week ago. I'm going to spend a couple days doing some updates, and will let y'all know when they're up.
I also got a way cool article from Miriam on mead that will be going up shortly.
vicky - almost, ALMOST done with the pool hall site from Hell....
I also got a way cool article from Miriam on mead that will be going up shortly.
vicky - almost, ALMOST done with the pool hall site from Hell....
JamesP said:
Okay, now doesn't this provide concrete proof at last that mead is humankind's oldest fermented beverage?
-David
lostnbronx said:
No, I'm afraid it doesn't. Although I don't doubt the San cave paintings exist, they haven't been dated, at least, not to the best of my knowledge including some e-mail conversations with Garth Cambray. There seems to be a strong oral tradition of meadmaking among the San people, and it seems reasonable to speculate that mead has been made throughout their long history (the San people, more familiarly known as Bushmen, are descendents of the oldest culture in Africa) but that doesn't qualify as hard core evidence. Also -- according to Garth, meadmaking isn't limited to the San people alone. It seems to be spread all thoughout African cultures.
Also -- we have to be careful about backreading modern concepts of fermented beverages into the ancient history of fermented potables. Ancient peoples made fermentables from whatever was at hand. Certainly this included honey, but that doesn't mean it was a mead.
An example -- the oldest known artifact showing the making of fermented beverages comes from China and is dated approximately 9,000 years ago. Patrick McGovern of the University of Penn. did the analysis. The beverage, whatever it was, defies modern categories. It's neither a wine, beer, or mead, although it apparently used rice, honey, grape or hawthorne berry as ingredients.
Dan McFeeley said:
Dan,
Yes, you're right, of course. I'm currently reading a book about Anglo-Saxon feasting habits, and this point is brought up indirectly -- the danger of ascribing modern practices or motives to people long ago, when the point one is trying to make has little or no hard evidence just yet to support it. This is a bad idea under any circumstances, but when there are no primary written sources concerning a theory, and precious-little archeological evidence either, people's imaginations can take flight. I know mine does! Thanks for being a voice of reason.
-David
Honey is one of the most ancient of foods. I would wager that man ate it far before they learned how to raise grains. And man has never had a food that he hasn't tried to ferment :
Of course the argument may go on forever. Sadly the mead makers of the land have far less money to spend on research of the history of our love. Fritz Maytag ( owner of the anchor brewery and of those washing machines out there) is throwing tons of money to research the history of beer. If only we had some wealthy souls in the mead world..
I guess I will simply live with the knowledge that Mead is at least more natural. I would think that folks would have discovered the process much earlier.
Of course the argument may go on forever. Sadly the mead makers of the land have far less money to spend on research of the history of our love. Fritz Maytag ( owner of the anchor brewery and of those washing machines out there) is throwing tons of money to research the history of beer. If only we had some wealthy souls in the mead world..
I guess I will simply live with the knowledge that Mead is at least more natural. I would think that folks would have discovered the process much earlier.
Scott Horner said:Honey is one of the most ancient of foods. I would wager that man ate it far before they learned how to raise grains. And man has never had a food that he hasn't tried to ferment :
Of course the argument may go on forever. Sadly the mead makers of the land have far less money to spend on research of the history of our love. Fritz Maytag ( owner of the anchor brewery and of those washing machines out there) is throwing tons of money to research the history of beer. If only we had some wealthy souls in the mead world..
I guess I will simply live with the knowledge that Mead is at least more natural. I would think that folks would have discovered the process much earlier.
Hello Scott -- on research into mead, mead history, etc., yes I agree, does seem to come done to economics. Commercial meadmaking is coming along very nicely, with all kinds of good meads in production yet, mead doesn't occupy the same place as the fermented products of grape and barley. It's difficult to persuade academics in the major research universities that this is a worthwhile venture. I've often thought that the problems with the varroa mite in beekeeping would have been solved a long time ago if meadmaking was as important to our culture as vinting or brewing.
This will change as commercial meadmaking continues to grow and prosper. But until then . . .
On ancient uses of honey -- I think few would disagree that honey was exploited as a food product, long long long before the development of agriculture. There are few hard core archaeological artifacts older than 7,000 years or so showing honey hunting, but that simple fact doesn't argue against honey hunting prior to those dates. Other evidence points strongly in that direction as well.
As to our favorite fermented product, yes, very likely made from the earliest beginnings but (see my post above) we have to be careful about backreading modern day concepts of fermented beverages into prehistoric worldviews that were very different from our own. In other words, it can be misleading to argue over whether wine, beer, or mead was "first." Neither were "first." We can definitely say, with good historical accuracy, that honey was very likely used from the earliest beginnings of the makings of fermented beverages, and some of them could have been meads of some kind. For instance, at this time, the oldest artifacts showing the making of a fermented beverage are 9,000 years old and come from China. The beverage simply defies modern categories. It was made from rice, grape or hawthorn berry, and honey. It is neither a wine, beer, nor mead. The neolithic Chinese who made the beverage wouldn't have called it that either.
I'll quit here -- starting to ramble on one of my favorite subjects!
lostnbronx said:
David,
Just out of curiosity, what book are you reading ?
Currently, I am slowly working through:
The Mead-Hall: The Feasting Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...104-6905753-3781519?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
* art *
So sorry Art! I just caught this one again. That's the one I read too! Very interesting, with some marvelous illustrations.
-David
-David
lostnbronx said:
Cool!
And I just caught this posting.
Definetly a neat book. The publisher has a few other interesting books:
Anglo-Saxon Books
http://www.asbooks.co.uk/
Tastes of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon Food and Drink (combines A Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food & A Second Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food & Drink)
I will end up picking these up sooner or later.
* art *
