13,000-year-old brewery discovered in Israel

[Still Waters]

Which came first: beer or bread production? The 60-year-old archaeological debate is coming to a (frothy) head as a new Stanford University study of three 13,000-year-old stone mortars offers the earliest known physical evidence of an extensive ancient beer-brewing operation.

An international team of scientists discovered and tested residue from the mortars, which were used by the semi-nomadic Natufians and discovered near a graveyard site called the Raqefet Cave, in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa, Israel, according to a Stanford News article on the discovery. The Natufians lived in the Levant between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic periods.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/13000-year-old-brewery-discovered-in-israel-the-oldest-in-the-world/

[Stiff]

The first pint I had in one of the local town centre bars last night tasted like it had been brewed that far back. Took one mouthful, left it and moved on. 

[Unfortunately]

On 9/17/2018 at 3:51 AM, seanjo said:

The oldest known brewery? People have been "brewing" since the time they discovered fermented fruit, and that may not have been Homo Sapiens, it could have been the species that came before that or before that.

I could be completely wrong, but I believe the use of the term brewery in this regard is referring to alcohol that would have been made for the masses, or at least commercially available. Otherwise you make a good argument.