An interesting study has found that ancient people used straws to share beer 5,000 years ago.

The purpose of the 1 meter long gold crown found in ancient tombs has been newly discovered by Russian archaeologists.



On the 19th local time, CNN reported on the ancient journal published by Russian archaeologist Viktor Trifonov.




The tomb where the artifacts were first discovered was excavated in 1897, and the tombs were owned by elites of the Bronze Age and contained colorful clothing, hundreds of beads, jewels, ceramics, cups made of precious metals, and weapons.



At that time, eight coffins were also discovered, but archaeologists at the time did not think of the purpose of the straw, but assumed it was simply a gold and silver decorative tube or a tool used to attach horsehair using holes drilled at both ends.

Since then, archaeologists have studied the purpose of the coffin, but have not been able to determine its exact purpose.




But recently, archaeologist Viktor Trifonov from the Institute of Material Culture History of the Russian Academy of Sciences published a study showing that the tube was used as a straw.



Trifonov claimed that the remains of a large beer vessel and eight straws were found more than 100 years ago at the Maikov Kurgan Tomb, a prehistoric site in the North Caucasus in northern Russia.



"We found granules of barley starch in the surface residues of the inner straws. This is direct evidence that the straws were used for drinking," he said. "If the research is correct, this wonderful tool would be the oldest surviving straw to date."

However, it is not yet known whether this barley component is fermented into beer.




The beer jugs used by the ancients were large enough for 8 people to share 7 pints each.

One pint is about 568 ml, and this container can hold 3 liters or more of beer.



The coffins found together were made of gold and silver, and were 1.1 meters long each.

Four of them were decorated with statues of bulls measuring 5 to 9 centimeters designed to move up and down, and inside the coffins were also pieces of metal perforated to filter out impurities from the beer, such as sediment and shells.




This is not the first time that ancient people have documented the use of straws.

5,000 BC Iranian and Iraqi artwork depicts people drinking beverages using straws .



This is a 'news pick'.



(Photo = 'CNN' homepage capture, 'Antiquity' journal)