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Beverage with heritage
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Eric Oliver is a political scientist at the University of Chicago. Tom Wood is a political scientist at Ohio State University in Columbus. Their latest findings are in JAMA (vol 174, p 817)
But mythology had to prevail. He chose Charon (“Shar-on” in some astronomer circles), the ferryman who transported souls across the river Styx to Pluto’s underworld. Now groups keen on astronomy – clubs, planetariums, schools – have a chance to join the name game and christen a new world. The rules: 16 characters or fewer; inoffensive; pronounceable (in some language); and no names of living individuals or pets! Good luck. It’s a real gift of a chance. Just don’t suggest Fido. n Heather Couper is a UK astronomer and science populariser. Asteroid 3922 was named Heather after her in 1999
One minute interview
Beverage with heritage Recreating ancient ales and wines is a subtle alchemy, but Patrick McGovern knows all the tricks bittering agent was. It couldn’t be hops, as they only became available in Europe around AD 700, so we looked at the eastern Mediterranean spices that would have been available: saffron, cardamom, bitter vetch, cumin. In a competition among microbreweries to recreate the beverage, Delaware-based Dogfish Head used the bestquality saffron as their bittering agent, as well as Greek honey made from thyme blossom. Their winning beverage was on the sweet side, but the saffron gave it aromatic properties.
Profile Patrick McGovern directs the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages and Health, at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Many of his ancient brews are sold by Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware
How did you start making ancient drinks? One of the first we made was the Midas beverage, based on residues in bronze vessels recovered from the Midas tomb in Turkey, which dates from 700 BC. These pointed to an unusual drink combining wine, barley beer and mead. There were also food remains in the tomb that suggested a barbecued lamb or goat stew with lentils and spices. We tried to recreate the funerary feast as a way of bringing the past to life. How do you go about recreating a drink? People give me either samples of pottery or residues from ancient vessels possibly used for making, storing or drinking a fermented beverage. I identify the markers of specific natural products: tartaric acid is a fingerprint compound for grapes in the Middle East, for example, while calcium oxalate points to the presence of barley beer. What did the Midas beverage taste like? We knew the three basic components – grapes, barley and honey – but we didn’t know what the
How does ancient booze compare with the modern stuff? Ancient beverages tended to be much more multidimensional. People didn’t necessarily specialise in one beverage; the wine industry was inseparable from the beer and mead industry in the earliest periods. Also, they wanted to be sure they had enough sugar to get the fermentation going, so they took whatever they had that contained sugar and mixed them together. Which of your recreations would you pair with a traditional turkey roast? The turkey is an American bird, so I’d propose having your English Christmas dinner with our American ancient ale, Theobroma, which was recreated by chemical analysis of pottery fragments from Honduras, dated to 1400 BC. Its cacao aroma will go nicely with the bird, a bit like a chocolate mole over chicken – a Mexican favourite. What about for a beach barbecue? If you were barbecuing fish or shrimp, I’d go for Midas Touch. It’s a little like white wine, and it has delicious, piquant qualities which I think would go well with fish. For barbecued steak, I’d go for our early Etruscan ale, Etrusca, whose recreation is based on evidence from 2800-year-old tombs in central Italy. Its backbone is malted heirloom barley and wheat, but it also has hazelnut flour and pomegranate, which would be a good match for the beef. It even contains myrrh, for an added Christmas motif. Interview by Linda Geddes
20/27 December 2014 | NewScientist | 37
university of Pennsylvania Museum
Conspiracy theories reflect how we intuitively understand our world and, ironically, provide emotional reassurance. They are stories with good and bad guys, conflict, resolution and other narrative elements that have a natural appeal. In short, to adherents, conspiracy theories feel like the truth. It is this that makes them problematic. By crystallising intuitions into incontrovertible claims, they limit possibilities for public discourse. This might not be a problem if the conspiracy involves aliens. But when it comes to important issues such as gun control or vaccinations, conspiracy theories impede our ability to sustain public debate. Thus, rather than trying to argue or reason, the first step should be to empathise. After all, whether knocking on wood or wishing someone luck, we all engage in magical thinking. Only by appreciating the emotional tug of conspiracy theories will it be possible for us to communicate in a meaningful way with our neighbours in tinfoil hats. n
Eric Oliver is a political scientist at the University of Chicago. Tom Wood is a political scientist at Ohio State University in Columbus. Their latest findings are in JAMA (vol 174, p 817)
But mythology had to prevail. He chose Charon (“Shar-on” in some astronomer circles), the ferryman who transported souls across the river Styx to Pluto’s underworld. Now groups keen on astronomy – clubs, planetariums, schools – have a chance to join the name game and christen a new world. The rules: 16 characters or fewer; inoffensive; pronounceable (in some language); and no names of living individuals or pets! Good luck. It’s a real gift of a chance. Just don’t suggest Fido. n Heather Couper is a UK astronomer and science populariser. Asteroid 3922 was named Heather after her in 1999
One minute interview
Beverage with heritage Recreating ancient ales and wines is a subtle alchemy, but Patrick McGovern knows all the tricks bittering agent was. It couldn’t be hops, as they only became available in Europe around AD 700, so we looked at the eastern Mediterranean spices that would have been available: saffron, cardamom, bitter vetch, cumin. In a competition among microbreweries to recreate the beverage, Delaware-based Dogfish Head used the bestquality saffron as their bittering agent, as well as Greek honey made from thyme blossom. Their winning beverage was on the sweet side, but the saffron gave it aromatic properties.
Profile Patrick McGovern directs the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages and Health, at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Many of his ancient brews are sold by Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware
How did you start making ancient drinks? One of the first we made was the Midas beverage, based on residues in bronze vessels recovered from the Midas tomb in Turkey, which dates from 700 BC. These pointed to an unusual drink combining wine, barley beer and mead. There were also food remains in the tomb that suggested a barbecued lamb or goat stew with lentils and spices. We tried to recreate the funerary feast as a way of bringing the past to life. How do you go about recreating a drink? People give me either samples of pottery or residues from ancient vessels possibly used for making, storing or drinking a fermented beverage. I identify the markers of specific natural products: tartaric acid is a fingerprint compound for grapes in the Middle East, for example, while calcium oxalate points to the presence of barley beer. What did the Midas beverage taste like? We knew the three basic components – grapes, barley and honey – but we didn’t know what the
How does ancient booze compare with the modern stuff? Ancient beverages tended to be much more multidimensional. People didn’t necessarily specialise in one beverage; the wine industry was inseparable from the beer and mead industry in the earliest periods. Also, they wanted to be sure they had enough sugar to get the fermentation going, so they took whatever they had that contained sugar and mixed them together. Which of your recreations would you pair with a traditional turkey roast? The turkey is an American bird, so I’d propose having your English Christmas dinner with our American ancient ale, Theobroma, which was recreated by chemical analysis of pottery fragments from Honduras, dated to 1400 BC. Its cacao aroma will go nicely with the bird, a bit like a chocolate mole over chicken – a Mexican favourite. What about for a beach barbecue? If you were barbecuing fish or shrimp, I’d go for Midas Touch. It’s a little like white wine, and it has delicious, piquant qualities which I think would go well with fish. For barbecued steak, I’d go for our early Etruscan ale, Etrusca, whose recreation is based on evidence from 2800-year-old tombs in central Italy. Its backbone is malted heirloom barley and wheat, but it also has hazelnut flour and pomegranate, which would be a good match for the beef. It even contains myrrh, for an added Christmas motif. Interview by Linda Geddes
20/27 December 2014 | NewScientist | 37
university of Pennsylvania Museum
Conspiracy theories reflect how we intuitively understand our world and, ironically, provide emotional reassurance. They are stories with good and bad guys, conflict, resolution and other narrative elements that have a natural appeal. In short, to adherents, conspiracy theories feel like the truth. It is this that makes them problematic. By crystallising intuitions into incontrovertible claims, they limit possibilities for public discourse. This might not be a problem if the conspiracy involves aliens. But when it comes to important issues such as gun control or vaccinations, conspiracy theories impede our ability to sustain public debate. Thus, rather than trying to argue or reason, the first step should be to empathise. After all, whether knocking on wood or wishing someone luck, we all engage in magical thinking. Only by appreciating the emotional tug of conspiracy theories will it be possible for us to communicate in a meaningful way with our neighbours in tinfoil hats. n