The Impact of Wine Production in the Social Transformation of Northern Mesopotamian Societies during the Third and Second Millennia BCE

Abstract

Summary In ancient times, wine was usually considered a rare commodity to be used by elites and mostly associated with ritual practices. This is especially the case of ancient Mesopotamian communities, which, starting from the fourth millennium BCE, gave an increasing value to this precious alcoholic beverage that was mostly produced and imported from regions peripheral to Mesopotamia proper, as in the case of the Taurus foothills in southeastern Turkey. Thus, this article aims at demonstrating the value acquired by wine between the late third and the early second millennium BCE, taking into account the archaeological data available from two sites located in this area, specifically, Titriş Höyük, in the upper section of the Euphrates, and Hirbemerdon Tepe, in the Tigris river valley, where wine production, consumption and exchange had a primary importance in structuring the socio-economic organization of the communities inhabiting these ancient settlements.