On Wednesday, June 11, 2003, at 01:47  PM, Jens Wilkinson wrote:
> fluctuation in the initial population, partly because
> it's fairly clear that although some populations have
> been consuming alcohol for probably 10,000 years or
> so, for the most part it's a very recent phenomenon.
> Heavy alcohol consumption is clearly not something
> that happened much before the 19th or 20th century,
> because it takes a lot of resources to make alcohol.
> Thinking that people who are subsisting on gruel and
> cabbage soup would eat any significant amount of wine
> or beer is probably a bit like the infamous statement
> by Marie Antoinette.
>

I don't think I agree with this point. Historical documents going back
thousands of years show frequent and heavy drinking. Some groups
subsisted not on bread but on fermented grains, which is actually a
pretty good way to maximize the value of the grain, as the fermentation
process makes many nutrients more available and actually creates some
nutrients, like B vitamins. It also reduces antinutrients like
phytates. It is actually pretty reasonable to suppose that people
subsisting on gruel would want to ferment it first.

Some archeologists believe that the earliest use of wild grain in the
middle east, 15,000 years ago, was for beer production, not bread.