Since 5,000 years ago, people have known to use straws to drink beer

According to reanalysis of ancient artifacts in 1897, a set of gold and silver pipes found 125 years ago in the northern Caucasus, were believed to be used to drink water or beer.

Precious ancient relics made of gold and silver

This set of straws was discovered by the Russian archaeologist, Nikolai Veselovsky, in 1897 at the Maikop Kurgan grave mound in the northern Caucasus. It is also a significant site for research into the Bronze Age, as three more skeletons and hundreds of other objects have also been discovered here, including gold and semi-precious stones, ceramic vases, Metal mugs and weapons. The mound dates from the 4th millennium BC dating from the Maikop Early Bronze Age Culture (3700 to 2900 BC).

Among these finds, Veselovsky found eight long, slender pipes, which were carefully and deliberately placed burial items on the right hand side of an individual believed to have played an important role. Tall was buried in a very elaborately decorated clothes. These tubes are made of gold and silver, more than 1 meter in length, half of the 8 tubes are adorned with a figurine also made of gold or silver. These precious items have now been moved to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, where they are kept to this day.

The illustration shows eight tubes, four of which are decorated with cow figurines.

New studies suggest that the tube is used for drinking

In analyzing, measuring, and calculating these ancient remains, Veselovsky referred to the tubes as "collectors" - arguably a reasonable guess, given the apparent condition of the individuals buried. as well as the careful placement of these items. Initially, some speculated that these 5,000-year-old objects were used as sticks like the wands or staffs of rulers, which seems reasonable given the material they are made of. .

However, newly published studies are now questioning this explanation, and there is a new argument that these objects are straws. If these explanations are correct, 'these fancy devices would be the oldest drinking straws left to date,' said Viktor Trifonov, an archaeologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St.Petersburg and co-author of the new paper.

The most important thing that led to this new argument came from the discovery of barley grains inside one of those straws, in addition to cereal grains (fossil grains of plant tissue) and pollen grains. flowers from the lime tree. This is considered direct evidence that these tubes were used for drinking, and because traces of barley were found, the scientists also suggest that the beverage proposed here could be beer.

The rendering shows 8 shared straws and one individually used straw.

It is not too vague to suggest that the Maikop of the Bronze Age consumed fermented barley. The practice is believed to date back to around 13,000 years before the Natufian period, while large-scale brewing activities began to appear in Asia during the 5th and 4th millennia BC. So it's perfectly reasonable to assume that families in Maikop drank herb-flavored barley beer. The researchers say that they 'can't definitively demonstrate the presence of a fermented beverage', so 'the results should be treated with caution, as well as analyses. deeper'.

Another thing worth noting is that the ends of the Maikop straws are equipped with a metal filter, capable of filtering out impurities that are considered abundant in ancient beer drinks. The scientists also hypothesized that these drinking tubes, with filters on the tips of the straws, were "designed to sip a filtered beverage during consumption" and are common practice. In addition, scientists also found a large vase found in Maikop Kurgan, enough for 8 people to drink.

The oldest surviving drinking straw

The straws with straws found at Maikop Kurgan have characteristics similar to the Sumerian drinking straws. The ancient Sumerians of the 3rd millennium BC are known to have sipped beer from large jugs, with some evidence on archaeological artifacts and artwork depicting the activity. this. As for the oldest straws dating back to the 5th and 4th millennia BC, there have been evidences on works of art found in northern Iraq and western Iran.

A silver tube-head filter captures evidence of barley starch grains, calendula pollen and some cereal grains.

The aforementioned Maikop straws, if they were indeed used to drink beer or other beverages, would make them the oldest drinking straws left in the archaeological record. This type of straw is believed to have originated in the Middle East, hundreds of miles from the northern Caucasus. The presence at a very remote location of these relics also suggests that this practice has spread to the surrounding areas.

"This finding contributes to a better understanding of the beginnings of ceremonial parties and drinking culture in a hierarchical society. Such activities must be important and widespread enough to go viral. between the two regions' The appearance of straws in Maikop Kurgan hints at cultural and economic ties between the regions. of the Sumerians who appeared in the Caucasus in the 4th millennium BC, straws are characteristic symbols that play a significant role as they were used as means of transportation for elite individuals". .

Not only did finding this type of straw show that our ancestors knew how to drink beer in the past, but many other archaeological finds have shown that drinking alcohol is a joy that has been maintained for a long time. in human history, and also promote social relationships when many people participate.