When Did Humans First Discover Alcohol?

When Did Humans First Discover Alcohol? Long before writing, before cities, before the wheel, humans had already discovered how to turn sugar into something that changed how they felt. This video traces the surprising, accidental history of alcohol, from a genetic mutation millions of years ago, to the world's oldest known beer, to ancient rice wine in China, and asks why this discovery kept happening again and again, all over the world. 📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES: ▸ The "drunken monkey hypothesis", the ability to digest alcohol began evolving in the ancestors of modern humans about 10 million years ago, giving early primates access to extra calories from fermented fruit. Live Science (2014) Archaeology Magazine ▸ The world's oldest known beer residue, evidence suggests people were drinking beer as far back as 13,000 years ago, found at Raqefet Cave near Haifa, Israel, where researchers identified brewing residue on stone mortars used by the Natufians, a hunter-gatherer group. HISTORY.com University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology ▸ An even older clue from Africa, a lump of beeswax wrapped in plant material and tied with twine, discovered in South Africa's Border Cave, suggests early hunter-gatherers may have been making a type of honey-based alcohol as long as 40,000 years ago. Archaeology Magazine HISTORY ▸ The clearest early evidence of intentional brewing, residues of a fermented beverage dated to around 7000–6600 BCE were recovered from early pottery at Jiahu, a Neolithic village in China's Yellow River Valley, made from rice, honey, and fruit. Penn Museum Vocal Media ▸ Winemaking in the Caucasus, evidence of winemaking in Georgia dates back to about 6000 BCE, with pottery shards containing tartaric acid, a key indicator of grape wine. Vocal Media History Cooperative Animation & Research by Harry #ancienthumans #alcohol #huntergatherer #prehistory #humanhistory #stoneage #history #explainer #animation #education #archaeology