Recently, archaeologists have identified the oldest surviving straws, long silver and gold tubes that are more than 5,000 years old and were likely used to drink beer from a public container.
They were first discovered in 1897 in the Caucasus region's large tomb, Maikop Kurgan, one of the most famous Bronze Age tombs in the region, containing three people and hundreds of precious burials.
(Source paper)
A total of eight straws were found, each more than a meter long, and some had statues of bulls on their handles. Early research suggested they were scepters, or possibly the poles of a canopy. They are now on display at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, but their use remains unknown.
So a team of russian researchers re-examined them.
Lead author Dr Viktor Trifonov from the Institute of Material And Cultural History of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg said: "The turning point is the discovery of barley starch granules in the residue of the inner ring of one of the straws, which is direct evidence that this straw was used for drinking. ”
From the third millennium BC onwards, drinking beer through long straws became a common practice in the early Mesopotamian civilization. Some artwork depicts people placing multiple long straws in a common container so that people standing or sitting nearby can drink together.
Dr Trifonov said: "These findings contribute to a better understanding of the early drinking culture in hierarchical societies. This practice must be important and popular. ”
The research paper, titled "Party like a Sumerian: reinterpreting the 'sceptres' from the Maikop kurgan," has been published in the journal Antiquity.
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Original text: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/party-like-a-sumerian-reinterpreting-the-sceptres-from-the-maikop-kurgan/EFEEFA5BD92653748F5A0F04CD133184