Howdy all,
I’m going to go out on a limb here and propose that our early Egyptian ancestors (Homo Erectus) probably stumbled across naturally occurring fermentation in the early Paleolithic Age between 700,000 and 70,000 BC. We know they used language, gathered food and used the hand axe, and there is a possibility that they even were able to control fire. The hand axe was flaked and fit into a hand very well. It was also the only tool for going on 70,000 years. To me it's not too much of a stretch to figure that if they found something like fermented fruit juice and drank it, they might keep their eye our for more. Especially if they caught a buzz from it.
The early Middle Paleolithic Age (approx 70,000 – 43,000 BC) was the time of the Neanderthal man who contrary to modern perception was not some hulking brutish oaf. Archeological evidence suggests that they buried their dead in caves, and cared for their injured and old. They developed a flaking technique that provided smaller better formed tools like daggers and scrapers. A lot of these types of artifacts have been found in the desert. As their manual and social skills evolve and develop, their skills of observation and imitation would naturally follow. So to would their sense of trying to incorporate the effects of any intoxicating foods or liquids that they found to be pleasant or "beneficial" to their lifestyle.
Then we come to good old Homo Sapiens (that’s us) who showed up during the Late Middle Paleolithic Age (43,000 – 30,000 BC). Homo Sapiens replaced rather than evolved from the Neanderthal and their average life expectancy was less than 30 years. Grim by our standards. We see bands or clans of about 20 – 50 people, and new tools started to develop. Obsidian, diorite and quartz begin to replace flint because a sharper and more enduring edge can be made from these materials. Also we have a new and innovative tool, the sickle. Also there was an intensive caring for wild grains and plants that may indicate an early flirtation with farming, but not in the sense that they planted crops.
The sickle was used to harvest wild grains. These people lived along rivers and lakes and have clay hearths. We also see the bow and arrow break onto the scene. The bow is the first weapon in history that stores energy, and then transfers to the arrow when it is shot. Indeed we see the development of arrowheads. There were arrowheads as small as your thumbnail that were used to hunt birds. Imagine the skill it would take to flake something like that. Again there is a “quantum” leap forward in social, manual, craft and harvesting skills, so to me it would follow that fermentation could be part of that. Especially given that they are actively harvesting wild grains and plants. Heck, they even had grindstones to grind the grain and pigment to color their eyes.
Then . . . the sickle disappears for a few thousand years. Debate ensues about why and how. But, I think, in a totally non-archeological kind of way, that because of the development of the Bow and Arrow, protein gathering (hunting) became easier and safer. One could be further away from the prey animal and less likelihood of injury or death made it easier to hunt. Bringing down a deer or something even bigger from a safe distance is a big payoff for ancient man. Generally I think they would choose the path of least resistance whenever he could. But, probably the sickle disappears because of crop failure (the dominant theory as I understand things), but in any case it does re-emerge in a few thousand years.
Moving forward from the Middle to late Paleolithic Age, man’s skills just keep growing, communities grow, social organization grows, man becomes more communal. In the Mesolithic (10,000-5000 BC) we see the development of pottery in Sudan, and the use of Malachite to color faces for religious purposes matures. As we move forward into the Neolithic we see strong archeological evidence of the development of agriculture, grains being cooked and beer being brewed.
So to me it is not outside the realm of possibility that the earliest of people might have known where to look for some fruit alcohol, especially after a rain. I don’t know that we’ll ever know for sure but it's sure fun to research it.
Oskaar
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