Alcohol, and Alcoholism
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ALCOHOL, AND ALCOHOLISM “...a large acquaintance with particulars often makes us wiser than the possession of abstract formulas, however deep.” — Professor William James HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 2,300 BCE Assyrians recorded that before their gods created the earth, they had been drinking a wine made from sesame seeds. PLANTS A map depicting the Mesopotamian city of Lagash was carved into a stone tablet held in the lap of a Sumerian god. Donkey-mounted couriers begin carrying written messages about Iraq and Iran. Originally, these imperial messengers, called angaros in Persian and angelos, or angels, in Greek, had no scheduled routes or relay stations. Instead they would count on getting replacement mounts from the areas through which they traveled. This procedure would sometimes led to conflict with locals. (The government paid local leaders to provide the post riders with grooms, shelter, watering facilities, and substantial numbers of mounts. Since nothing happens perfectly, sometimes the post riders were reduced to taking what they needed.) A modified system in which the kings kept their own postal herds worked better, and by the 13th Century the Mongols would have relay stations linking every major town between the Yellow and Black Seas. Eastern Mediterranean smiths began beating meteoric iron into sacred knives and medallions. Meteoric iron has continued to be made into aristocratic weapons into historic times, Indonesian krisses being the most famous examples. As about 2,000 meteorites fall on earth during the typical year, meteoric iron is found throughout the world. While the Ka’bah in Mecca is probably the world’s most famous iron meteorite, the largest would be found near Grootfontein, Namibia, in 1920 — a 60-65 ton block of iron shale measuring about 9 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 3-1/4 feet thick. Friezes on the walls of a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt show youths wrestling. Other friezes on the same tombs also show boys in light tunics boxing with bare fists and fencing with papyrus stalks (perhaps in the context of playing soldier). ESSENCE IS BLUR. SPECIFICITY, THE OPPOSITE OF ESSENCE, IS OF THE NATURE OF TRUTH. alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 1,468 BCE The Sumerians invented a single-tube seed drill. Archaeological evidence such as the distinctive axes and swords of China, found at various Middle Eastern sites, indicate there to have been considerable contact and trade between the Far East and the Middle East. Liquor was distilled in parts of Asia. The soybean was cultivated in Manchuria. Bone inscriptions in Chinese ideograms refer to the making of beer. PLANTS ESSENCES ARE FUZZY, GENERIC, CONCEPTUAL; ARISTOTLE WAS RIGHT WHEN HE INSISTED THAT ALL TRUTH IS SPECIFIC AND PARTICULAR (AND WRONG WHEN HE CHARACTERIZED TRUTH AS A GENERALIZATION). alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 500 BCE Etruscan soldiers started carrying curved short swords known as kopis. Later popularized by the armies of Cyrus and Alexander, these slashing weapons are sometimes claimed as ancestors for the Gurkha kukri. That seems unlikely, because until their transition to firearms and bows during the 1760s the Nepalese used kukris mostly to slaughter livestock, chop wood, and clear brush. Mayans made statues showing psilocybin mushrooms. Peruvians made pots showing men chewing coca leaves and friezes showing men carrying staffs made from the stalks of psychotropic cacti. “HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE” BEING A VIEW FROM A PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME (JUST AS THE PERSPECTIVE IN A PAINTING IS A VIEW FROM A PARTICULAR POINT IN SPACE), TO “LOOK AT THE COURSE OF HISTORY MORE GENERALLY” WOULD BE TO SACRIFICE PERSPECTIVE ALTOGETHER. THIS IS FANTASY-LAND, YOU’RE FOOLING YOURSELF. THERE CANNOT BE ANY SUCH THINGIE, AS SUCH A PERSPECTIVE. alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 241 BCE Yet another altercation involving our favorite pushy people, the Romans: at Aegates Islands the Romans led by C. Lutatius Catulus defeated the Carthaginians under Hanno (this was not the Hanno who sailed down the west coast of Africa, as that had happened in about 500 BCE), creating the Pax Romana.1 Annual tribute demanded after the conquest of Sicily would allow Rome to obtain wheat cheaply for its citizens. War in general had brought benefits for the Romans through the capture of productive acreage for Romans, the opening of markets for Roman plantation-produced wine, and the taking of slaves by the Romans — and after all, this is about the triumph of civilization, isn’t it? If we need to have more without end, doesn’t it stand to reason that we are also going to need war without end? PLANTS YOUR GARDEN-VARIETY ACADEMIC HISTORIAN INVITES YOU TO CLIMB ABOARD A HOVERING TIME MACHINE TO SKIM IN METATIME BACK ACROSS THE GEOLOGY OF OUR PAST TIMESLICES, WHILE OFFERING UP A GARDEN VARIETY OF COGENT ASSESSMENTS OF OUR PROGRESSION. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP! YOU SHOULD REFUSE THIS HELICOPTERISH OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL PAST, FOR IN THE REAL WORLD THINGS HAPPEN ONLY AS THEY HAPPEN. WHAT THIS SORT WRITES AMOUNTS, LIKE MERE “SCIENCE FICTION,” MERELY TO “HISTORY FICTION”: IT’SNOT WORTH YOUR ATTENTION. 1. You will note that in these records of battles leaving fields littered with corpses, the terms “creating the Pax Romana” and “disrupting the Pax Romana” are terms of art — and are employed arbitrarily. Please don’t try to figure out why sometimes the term “creating” is selected, and sometimes the word “disrupting,” as this won’t get you anywhere at all. HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 280 CE The emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus rescinded an edict of Domitian which had prohibited the planting of grape vineyards in the Roman provinces. PLANTS THE TASK OF THE HISTORIAN IS TO CREATE HINDSIGHT WHILE INTERCEPTING ANY ILLUSION OF FORESIGHT. NOTHING A HUMAN CAN SEE CAN EVER BE SEEN AS IF THROUGH THE EYE OF GOD. alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 600 CE During the 7th century of its existence, the Christian Church would give rise to the doctrine known as “monotheletism” — to wit, that Christ had one person and one nature. However, this would be being replaced in some areas by Islam, which would eventually take over the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, and North Africa. The more Eastern portion of the Christian domain would upholds marriage for priests. Britain would be completely evangelized, and Christianity would spread into the Frisians. Isidore appointed an archbishop of Seville. Mohammed was part owner of a shop in Mecca, trading in plant products such as myrrh, frankincense, and spices. PLANTS “According to legend, Mohammed was cured of narcolepsy with coffee.” — Wolfgang Schivelbusch, TASTES OF PARADISE: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF SPICES, STIMULANTS, AND INTOXICANTS. NY: Pantheon Books, 1992, page 17.2 Moslem teachings would allow the use of cannabis while proscribing the use of alcohol. Plant Name Place OTHERS Spinach Spinacia oeracea Iran 2. Schivelbusch points out that this legend is a dubious one, since Mohammed died in AD 694; although coffee was in use as medicine “as early as the 10th century” its popularity as a beverage in Islam dates to “certainly no earlier than the 15th century” (nevertheless, might we not recommend this as a form of argumentative outreach, to the Pope?). HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM There was at that time a square old temple in Mecca, the Ka’bah, full of idols. In one of its corners a black-metal meteorite had been set. Eventually people would be telling each other that this heavenly stone had been given by Gabriel to Abraham. They would be kissing it and touching it. It would be worn hollow by centuries of constant frottage. “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 746 CE At this point the Dutch and the Germans began adding the dried blossoms of the hops vine to their brewing beer (the Brits would not be adding hops until after 1524). PLANTS “MAGISTERIAL HISTORY” IS FANTASIZING: HISTORY IS CHRONOLOGY alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 775 CE Charlemagne gave the upper slopes of the hill of Corton to the Abbey of Saulieu (wine from the grapes of this zone is still called Corton-Charlemagne). PLANTS NOBODY COULD GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 867 CE King Charles the Bald granted land on the Loire River at Chablis to the Chapter of St. Martin at Tours for a vineyard. Since the Loire connects to the Seine, this “Chablis” wine would become well-known in Paris. PLANTS CHANGE IS ETERNITY, STASIS A FIGMENT alcohol and alcoholism “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX PROHIBITION ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM 1250 At about this point, the technique of the distillation of alcohol became known in Europe, making it possible to produce more potent and convenient alcoholic beverages. Until the 16th century, however, distilled or spiritous liquors primarily would be being distilled out of wine (the result of this is termed brandy), would be consequently somewhat pricey, and would find use only by the wealthy and only as medicine. Credited with extraordinary healing powers, their common name would be aqua vitae, “water of life.” DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION? GOOD.