Inebriation and the early state: Beer and the politics of affect in Mesopotamia

Abstract

Many early states were deeply invested in alcoholic beverages. In focusing on the political instrumentality of these beverages, however, archaeologists have often lost sight of what makes them such an effective tool of statecraft. People seek out alcoholic beverages because of their inebriating potential, their ability to transform people, places, atmospheres, and events. In this article, I consider the politics of affect and the enduring connection between alcohol and the state-making project. I argue that alcohol has long served as an affective technology, a means of intervening in the affective domain. As a case study, I explore the evidence for beer in early Mesopotamia. A fundamental element in the state-making arsenal, beer was recognized to produce distinctive effects on imbibers, but this affective dimension has often been sidestepped in the archaeological literature. I approach the topic from two angles: (1) Mesopotamian perspectives on the effects of beer consumption and (2) key parameters that need to be clarified if we are to assess the role of beer as affective technology. I hope that the roadmap laid out here will help to spark deeper archaeological engagement with the affective dimensions of alcohol consumption and the politics of affect in Mesopotamia and beyond.