159 their targeted use by humans, long before the domestication of crops.2 Among the earliest luxury foods whose production and consumption we know of are alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is produced through the fermentation of sugar contained in berries and fruits, but also that deriving from the starch of grains, wild grasses and cereals. With the cultivation of cereal crops such as barley (12,500 years ago), wheat (10,000 years ago), maize (7000 years ago) and rice (6000 years ago), humans gained access to starchy grain crops, which not only served to make bread and as a source of carbohydrates (see p. 169), but whose starch could also be fermented into alcohol through the addition of yeast fungi or saliva.3 The first evidence of beer brewing can be traced back to Egypt Throughout human history, access to luxury foods and stimulants has always been a factor in the emergence of social inequalities and relationships of asymmetrical dependency. Luxury foods are products that are primarily consumed for their agreeable flavour or relaxing effect. They often serve to promote pleasure and social interaction and are frequently an integral part of cultural traditions. Typical substances include alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea and certain food products such as chocolate. In contrast, stimulants are substances that increase the activity of the central nervous system and result in increased alertness, energy and attention. These effects can be both physical and psychological. The bestknown stimulants today include caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines and cocaine. However, the line between stimulants and luxury foods is rather blurred, as many luxury foods are also stimulants. It is likely that long before they developed sedentary lifestyles, humans were already acquainted with the stimulating and mind-altering properties of certain plants. Shamans used such special plants to modify their perceptual system and induce visions, whilst they were presumably also aware of the plants’ healing properties.1 To this day, healers and religious practitioners of different cultures continue to ingest psychoactive plant substances to achieve euphoric or even trance-like states, with the aim of communicating with non-human entities. Certain archaeological finds of ground seeds and other remains of psychoactive plants provide evidence of Nikolai Grube
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