1st Edition

The Origins and Ancient History of Wine Food and Nutrition in History and Antropology

    438 Pages
    by Routledge

    440 Pages
    by Routledge

    This volume presents contemporary evidence scientific, archaeological, botanical, textual, and historical for major revisions in our understanding of winemaking in antiquity. Among the subjects covered are the domestication of the Vinifera grape, the wine trade, the iconography of ancient wine, and the analytical and archaeological challenges posed by ancient wines. The essayists argue that wine existed as long ago as 3500 BC, almost half a millennium earlier than experts believed.
    Discover named these findings among the most important in 1991. Featuring the work of 23 internationally known scholars and writers, the book offers the first wide ranging treatment of wine in the early history of western Asia and the Mediterranean. Comprehensive and accessible while providing full documentation, it is sure to serve as a catalyst for future research.

    Part I: Ancient Sayings About Wine

    Part II: Grapes and Wine: Hypothesis and Scientific Evidence

    The Archaeological Evidence for Winemaking, Distribution, and Consumption at the Proto-Historical Godin Tepe, Iran

    Part III: The History and Archaeology of Wine: The Near East and Egypt

    The Earliest History of Wine and Its Importance in Ancient Egypt

    "Canaanite Jars" and the Late Bronze Age Aegeo-Levantine Wine Trade

    Wine Amphoras in Ancient Greek Trade

    The Domestication of the Grapevine Vitis Vinifera L. in the Near East

    Part IV: The Mediterranean

    An Enologist's Commentary on Ancient Wines

    Wine and the Vine in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Cuneiform Evidence

    Empty Cups and Empty Jugs: The Social Role of Wine in Minoan and Mycenaean Societies

    Biography

    Patrick E. McGovern, Stuart J. Fleming, Solomon H. Katz

    It is impossible to begin to describe the riches of this book...a major contribution to wine literature...recommended without reservation to anyone with an interest in grapes and wine in the past."