Many of them have split open, drawing him to their intoxicating fruity odor.

許多李子都裂開了，令人沈醉的果香吸引了牠。

He gorges himself and begins to experience some… strange effects.

牠把自己吃撐，接著有一股奇怪的感受襲來。

This unwitting ape has stumbled on a process that humans will eventually harness to create beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks.

這隻猩猩偶然發現了人們最終釀製啤酒、葡萄酒和其他酒精飲料的過程。

The sugars in overripe fruit attract microscopic organisms known as yeasts.

過熟水果中的糖分會吸引微生物，也就是酵母。

As the yeasts feed on the fruit sugars, they produce a compound called ethanol— the type of alcohol in alcoholic beverages.

當酵母以水果糖分為食時，他們會生產一種叫作乙醇的化合物，也就是酒精飲料中的酒精成分。

This process is called fermentation.

這個過程稱為「發酵」。

Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages.

沒有人知道人們何時開始發酵飲料。

The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey.

最早的證據在西元前 7000 年的中國，陶碗內的殘留物顯示人們利用米、小麥、葡萄、蜂蜜發酵，製作酒精飲料。

Within a few thousand years, cultures all over the world were fermenting their own drinks.

幾千年之間，許多文化都在釀製屬於自己的酒。

Ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians made beer throughout the year from stored cereal grains.

美索不達米雅和埃及人長年利用保存的穀物生產啤酒。

This beer was available to all social classes, and workers even received it in their daily rations.

這種啤酒可以分配給個社會階層，工人甚至按日配給。

They also made wine, but because the climate wasn't ideal for growing grapes, it was a rare and expensive delicacy.

他們也生產葡萄酒，但當地氣候並不適合種植葡萄，因此是很少有的奢華享受。

By contrast, in Greece and Rome, - where grapes grew more easily - wine was as readily available as beer was in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

反之在容易種植葡萄的希臘和羅馬，葡萄酒就像啤酒在美索不達米雅和埃及一樣普及。

Because yeasts will ferment basically any plant sugars, ancient peoples made alcohol from whatever crops and plants grew where they lived.

酵母基本上能透過各種植物的糖發酵，古代人們會利用任何居住地有的植物、穀物釀酒。

In South America, people made chicha from grains, sometimes adding hallucinogenic herbs.

在南美洲，人們利用種子生產水煙，有時會加上致幻植物。

In what's now Mexico, pulque, made from cactus sap, was the drink of choice, while East Africans made banana and palm beer.

在現今的墨西哥，用仙人掌汁製成的木漿是飲料首選，同時東非人則使用香蕉和棕櫚釀啤酒。

And in the area that's now Japan, people made sake from rice.

而現今的日本，人們會用米釀清酒。

Almost every region of the globe had its own fermented drinks.

全世界的每個地區都有自己的發酵飲料。

As alcohol consumption became part of everyday life, some authorities latched onto effects they perceived as positive.

當攝取酒精成為生活的一部分，某些人認為酒精有正面的影響。

Greek physicians considered wine to be good for health, and poets testified to its creative qualities.

希臘哲學家認為葡萄酒有益健康，詩人則以其證明了他們的創造力。

Others were more concerned about alcohol's potential for abuse.

但其他人則擔心酒精潛在的濫用。

Greek philosophers promoted temperance.

希臘哲學家提倡節制。

Early Jewish and Christian writers in Europe integrated wine into rituals but considered excessive intoxication a sin.

在早期的歐洲，一批猶太教和基督教作家將酒融入儀式中，但認為過度酗酒是一種罪過。

And in the Middle East, Africa, and Spain, an Islamic rule against praying while drunk gradually solidified into a general ban on alcohol.

在中東、非洲和西班牙，伊斯蘭教禁止飲酒的規定加重，逐漸成為禁令。

Ancient fermented beverages had relatively low alcohol content.

古代的發酵飲料的酒精濃度相對較低。

At about 13% alcohol, the by-products wild yeasts generate during fermentation become toxic and kill them.

酒精濃度達到 13% 時，酵母的產物變得有毒，足以讓他們死亡。

When the yeasts die, fermentation stops, and the alcohol content levels off.

酵母死亡後，發酵就會停止，酒精濃度因而穩定。

So for thousands of years, alcohol content was limited.

幾千年以來，酒精濃度都受到控制。

That changed with the invention of a process called distillation.

直到蒸餾法的發明，一切都改變了。

9th century Arabic writings describe boiling fermented liquids to vaporize the alcohol in them.

9 世紀時，阿拉伯文字記載，發酵時的沸點會使酒精蒸發。

Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, so it vaporizes first.

酒精的沸點比水低，因此會先被蒸發。

Capture this vapor, cool it down, and what's left is liquid alcohol much more concentrated than any fermented beverage.

將蒸氣留下冷卻，剩下的就是液態酒精，這比其他發酵飲料濃度都還要高。

At first, these stronger spirits were used for medicinal purposes.

一開始，這些烈酒用於醫療目的。

Then, spirits became an important trade commodity because, unlike beer and wine, they didn't spoil.

接著，烈酒成為重要的貿易商品，因為他們不像啤酒和葡萄酒一樣容易腐敗。

Rum made from sugar harvested in European colonies in the Caribbean became a staple for sailors and was traded to North America.

由歐洲加勒比海收成的糖製成的蘭姆酒，成為水手必備，並在北美銷售。

Europeans brought brandy and gin to Africa and traded it for enslaved people, land, and goods like palm oil and rubber.

歐洲人將白蘭地和琴酒帶至非洲，跟奴隸換取土地、棕櫚油及橡膠等產品。

Spirits became a form of money in these regions.

烈酒成為這些地方的貨幣。

During the Age of Exploration, spirits played a crucial role in long distance sea voyages.

大航海時代時，烈酒扮演著至關重要的角色。

Sailing from Europe to East Asia and the Americas could take months, and keeping water fresh for the crews was a challenge.

從歐洲航行到東亞及美國耗時極長，要在過程中保持水的新鮮很困難。

Adding a bucket of brandy to a water barrel kept water fresh longer because alcohol is a preservative that kills harmful microbes.

在水桶中加入一些白蘭地能讓水保持新鮮，因為酒精是能殺死細菌的防腐劑。

So by the 1600s, alcohol had gone from simply giving animals a buzz to fueling global trade and exploration, along with all their consequences.

到了 1600 年代，酒精已經從讓動物暈眩，變成加速世界開發和貿易的產品，伴隨著其他相關的後果。

As time went on, its role in human society would only get more complicated. Tracing the history of our industry and agriculture gives us a fascinating look at what we value as a species and how we've ended up where we are today. Check out these two lessons for a superspecific and eye-opening look at why we are like this.

隨著時間的演進，酒精在人類社會中的角色只會越來越複雜。