A new book by an NC State professor explores how ancient Mesopotamians brewed, distributed and drank in 3,000 B.C.E.
by Ayn-Monique Klahre

If you want to wow your hops-loving friends, tuck into In the Land of Ninkasi by Tate Paulette. It’s an exploration of “the world’s first great beer culture,” in ancient Mesopotamia circa 3,000 B.C.E. “The origins of beer date thousands of years earlier, but it’s the earliest we’ve been able to document beer culture in its complexity,” Paulette says.

Paulette, a history professor at North Carolina State University, started exploring the subject more than a decade ago as a graduate student writing a dissertation on grain storage.

That led to working with a brewer to try to recreate an ancient Mesopotamian beer using authentic ingredients and equipment, like ceramic urns styled after ones found on archeological digs, with a brewing process outlined in a hymn to Ninkasi, a goddess of beer. “It takes you through the steps,” Paulette says.

The book In the Land of Ninkasi gathers more than 100 years’ worth of research by Paulette and others into a lively exploration of Mesopotamian beer culture, with vignettes introducing each chapter. For example, there’s evidence of people brewing beers at home but also getting beer delivered or enjoying it at a tavern. There’s art that depicts the elite classes drinking beer at banquets, often using a long straw to sip out of a communal vessel. “But pretty much everyone, regardless of wealth or status, seemed to have access to beer,” says Paulette.

And while there’s little record of ancient Mesopotamians getting drunk, “there is some medical literature with diagnoses that might have to do with overconsumption — slurred speech, trouble with balance — and other literature that suggests that when people drink beer together, there’s a possibility for boundaries to be crossed,” says Paulette. 

It’s all approached in a fun, lighthearted way. “This book is intended for a broad audience, whether you’re interested in history, archeology or just the beer side of things,” Paulette says.

Paulette will be speaking about his book at So & So Books on
Sept. 10. Visit soandsobooks.com for more information

This article originally appeared in the September, 2024 issue of WALTER magazine.