Beer contributed heavily to the beginnings of writing and commerce and also had many health benefits to people of ancient civilizations. Writing was first invented to record the collection and rationing of cereal grains used for beer, bread and other goods. Beer also became a subject of writing as well. The topic of beer drinking is found in an excerpt of the world’s first literary work “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and in a survey of Egyptian literature it was found that hekt, the Egyptian word for beer, was mentioned more than any other food stuff. Beer was also used as a way to pay taxes and wages. Different shaped tokens were used to symbolize amounts of beer, grain, or individual cattle and when goods were given at the temple, the comparable
