Beer Atlas · place
Time Cellar · archaeological evidence
Raqefet Cave cereal-fermentation evidence
Residue, use-wear, contextual, and experimental evidence from Natufian mortars has been interpreted as cereal-based beer making associated with ritual feasting.
Chronology
What date is actually being claimed
c. 13,700–11,700 cal BP; brewing interpretation around c. 13,000 BP · precision: calibrated bp range · approximate · Date range describes the archaeological context; the interpreted brewing activity is commonly summarized as roughly 13,000 years ago.
Claim boundary
This records an archaeological interpretation of fermented cereal evidence. BEU does not convert it into an uncontested “invention of beer” date or a global first-ever claim.
Historical context
Places, participants, and period
These are identity links, not automatic claims that a place/person caused every downstream development.
Cross-world history graph
What this anchor helps contextualize
“Historically connected to” supplies sourced discovery context without asserting simple causation or lineage.
ingredient
Barley Grain
Evidence claims
Where interpretation is explicitly recorded
historical fact · 86% confidence
archaeological_interpretation
Evidence and provenance attached to this claim record.
Provenance
Sources and reuse status
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Tier A · scholarly primary
Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Reuse: citation only
Tier A · scholarly primary
Response to comments on archaeological reconstruction of 13,000-y old Natufian beer making at Raqefet Cave, Israel
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Reuse: citation only
BEU015 · Learning Paths
Learning Paths containing this historical anchor
These are curator-authored journeys containing this canonical node; inclusion does not imply ranking, authority, popularity, or required consumption.
mixed · advanced synthesis
Beer Through Time & Place
Build a chronological-geographic mental model of beer history using sourced events and places.
Graph discovery · explainable
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historical era
Deep Fermentation Prehistory
A deep-time lens for archaeological evidence of cereal fermentation before domesticated grain agriculture.
Navigation heuristic: 38. semantic 16 + evidence 4 + verification 6 + confidence 6 + cross-type 3 + route 3 + extra-relations 0
occurred_during · forward
Raqefet Cave cereal-fermentation evidence — occurred during → Deep Fermentation Prehistory.
Historical event falls within an era. BEU places this anchor inside the scoped deep fermentation prehistory navigation era.
Evidence: Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel
place
Raqefet Cave
Natufian burial site on Mount Carmel used in BEU as the location of debated early cereal-fermentation evidence.
Navigation heuristic: 38. semantic 16 + evidence 4 + verification 6 + confidence 6 + cross-type 3 + route 3 + extra-relations 0
occurred_in · forward
Raqefet Cave cereal-fermentation evidence — occurred in → Raqefet Cave.
Historical event occurred in a place. Location context for raqefet fermentation evidence.
Evidence: Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel
ingredient
Barley Grain
Raw barley grain used in brewing and malting contexts.
Navigation heuristic: 37. semantic 16 + evidence 4 + verification 6 + confidence 5 + cross-type 3 + route 3 + extra-relations 0
historically_connected_to · forward
Raqefet Cave cereal-fermentation evidence — historically connected to → Barley Grain.
Historical context only; this does not by itself prove invention, descent, causation, or exclusivity. The archaeological interpretation includes malted wheat/barley among plant materials; this is a historical-context link, not proof of a modern recipe.
Evidence: Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel