MEAD HISTORY
It takes little imagination to conceive of early man's first encounter with mead; a neglected container of honey, diluted with rainwater and subsequently warmed by the sun, would likely ferment in a matter of days. The flavor of the concoction might be highly suspect, but its effect on one's disposition would be, well, tangible.

The historical timing of this discovery is a topic for idle anthropologists and ruminating meadmakers. We know that man has always gathered honey in the wild, so some of our very earliest and most primitive societies were probably exposed to fermented honey on at least an occasional basis. The historian's conjecture that Australopithecus africanus may also have hunted for honey is an entertaining one. Might Australopithecus—forefather of our species!—have "discovered" mead before us, even if through serendipity? Did Australopithecus even have containers for potables? Pour yourself a potable and consider that.

Of course, written historical records provide us with concrete references to mead in early civilizations. At 5,000 years before present, the Sanskrit Rig-Veda of Ancient India may be our most ancient record of mead, and according to the writings of Plato, the ancient Greeks partook. By the last few centuries BC, a number of cultures in Europe, Africa and Asia were drinking mead and writing about it. Early Scandinavians and Celts mythologized their mead, and the Mayan of Middle America used it in religious ceremony.

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