Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
The history of civilization is, in many ways, the history of wine. This book is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the earliest stages of vinicultural history and prehistory, which extends back into the Neolithic period and beyond. Elegantly written and richly illustrated, Ancient Wine opens up whole new chapters in the fascinating story of wine and the vine by drawing upon recent archaeological discoveries, molecular and DNA sleuthing, and the texts and art of long-forgotten peoples.
Patrick McGovern takes us on a personal odyssey back to the beginnings of this consequential beverage when early hominids probably enjoyed a wild grape wine. We follow the course of human ingenuity in domesticating the Eurasian vine and learning how to make and preserve wine some 7,000 years ago. Early winemakers must have marveled at the seemingly miraculous process of fermentation. From success to success, viniculture stretched out its tentacles and entwined itself with one culture after another (whether Egyptian, Iranian, Israelite, or Greek) and laid the foundation for civilization itself. As medicine, social lubricant, mind-altering substance, and highly valued commodity, wine became the focus of religious cults, pharmacopoeias, cuisines, economies, and society. As an evocative symbol of blood, it was used in temple ceremonies and occupies the heart of the Eucharist. Kings celebrated their victories with wine and made certain that they had plenty for the afterlife. (Among the colorful examples in the book is McGovern's famous chemical reconstruction of the funerary feast--and mixed beverage--of "King Midas.") Some peoples truly became "wine cultures.?
When we sip a glass of wine today, we recapitulate this dynamic history in which a single grape species was harnessed to yield an almost infinite range of tastes and bouquets. Ancient Wine is a book that wine lovers and archaeological sleuths alike will raise their glasses to.
Patrick E. McGovern
Patrick E. McGovern is Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. His books include Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture, the 2004 Grand Prize winner in History, Literature, and Fine Arts, Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin. McGovern's research on the origins of alcoholic beverages has been featured in Time, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Nature, and elsewhere.
Read more from Patrick E. Mc Govern
Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to Ancient Wine
Anthropology For You
The Way of the Shaman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Body Language Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bruce Lee Wisdom for the Way Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRethinking Narcissism: The Bad---and Surprising Good---About Feeling Special Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Psychology of Totalitarianism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories of Rootworkers & Hoodoo in the Mid-South Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Survive in Ancient Egypt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of Asian America: A History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trouble With Testosterone: And Other Essays On The Biology Of The Human Predi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bullshit Jobs: A Theory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Regarding the Pain of Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The White Album: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Matter of the Mind: The Culturally Articulated Unconscious Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Ancient Wine
10 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5There's some interesting tidbits here and there in the book. It also looks like a good starting point for someone interested in the history of alcoholic drinks. Also anyone interested in the history of the ancient world might be interested in. There's a couple of drawbacks though:1) The book feels disorganized. You find yourself leaping from time period to time period and place to place.2) Toward the very end of the book all the sudden there's maps which would have been much more usable in the start of the book.3) The audience feels unclear. The author takes the time to explain molecular anthropology, but dives into using archeological terms without much explanation. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's aimed for a layperson or student who has some familiarity with archeology.