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For Centuries, Humans Have Had A Complicated Relationship With Alcohol

By Adrienne St. Clair
Published: Friday, March 31, 2017 - 3:33pm
Updated: Friday, April 7, 2017 - 4:28pm
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And with your peanuts and crackerjacks, maybe you're also grabbing a beer.

Major sporting events like Major League Baseball games and the Final Four tournament, which gets underway tomorrow at University of Phoenix Stadium, will keep the alcohol flowing.

Not to mention, you'll find it at weddings and funerals, in church and in bars. In Sin City and even Vatican City, you’ll find some kind of alcohol.

For centuries, humans have had a complicated relationship with alcohol.

Andrew Curry is a freelance journalist in Berlin.  He reported on this relationship in February’s National Geographic Magazine cover story, called “Our 9,000 Year Love Affair with Booze.”

According to Curry, this complex relationship stems from our earliest primate ancestors’ love for the fermented fruit that fell on the forest floor. Not only did the fruit make them feel good, but it was critical to their survival. 

But as humans evolved, so did our uses for, and dependency on, alcohol. Access to this so-called “water of life” came to symbolize power. The people that produced it pulled the strings.

But there were slight variations in how ancient cultures used alcohol. Some were conservative. And the ancient French would give up a slave for a drink.

Adam Miszuk is the assistant manager at Valley Bar in downtown Phoenix. He’s seen alcohol’s social power. Miszuk says alcohol is affecting the city, too.

Dan Klocke, vice president of the development department of Downtown Phoenix Inc., agrees. He says the influx of restaurants and bars provides hope for continued growth.

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