Fertile Crescent Case Study

According to Standage, how did the Fertile Crescent get its name?
The Fertile Crescent got its name due to its highly nutritious soil, which allows various types of grains to be grown there such as wheat and barley.
How is beer production an example of plant domestication?
Beer production is an example of plant domestication because the grains it’s made out of need to be grown in mass quantities in order to produce the drink. Standage argues that as humans transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a more settled one, they started to incorporate beer more and more into their daily routines. As beer became more of a commodity and not just a drink, they needed an ample supply of grains to support the growing demand. Therefore, they deliberately began to cultivate grains that had once been considered “wild” in order to have enough to produce enough of the beverage for the growing population.
What effect did storing grain have on hunter-gatherer societies?
Storing grains had a large effect on hunter-gatherer societies for many reasons. As humans began to more readily focus on the collection of grains it made them congregate to one location in order to maximize the amount of grains harvested. This of course meant that once collected (assuming they would have had a large amount of
The elite would drink the most expensive and oldest wine they could find, while the lower classes drank a date-palm wine, which was much lower quality. This was because the further the wine had to travel to get to the buyer, the more borders it had to cross, therefore generating numerous taxes and tariffs. This was why only the most expensive wines were reserved for the most important and wealthy people. Wine played such a prominent role in society that is was considered a highly held talent to be able to distinguish a wine based on its taste