Applied Anthropology Profile: Dr. Patrick McGovern, Ancient Ales Expert

Figure 1: Patrick McGovern posing with the award winning Midas Touch Ale (Source: Penn Museum)

 

Known as the "Indiana Jones of Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages" or Dr. Pat, Dr. Patrick McGovern never expected to become an archaeologist, scholar, and ancient beer brewing collaborator (Figure 1).  He earned his Bachelors in Chemistry and pursued a doctorate in Near Eastern archaeology and history, where he focused his studies on ancient ceramics and their analyses.  McGovern credits his interests in ales to cultural forces around him, his family upbringing, and spontaneous chance.  Growing up throughout the 1960s and 1970s he was surrounded by pop culture images that promoted drug and alcohol consumption, but an experience working as a grape picker in Germany and consuming German wines cemented his interests in wine.  It was in the 1980s, however, where he capitalized on these interests.  The 1980s saw the increased interest in combining chemistry with archaeological study, leading the pioneering field of biomolecular archaeology.  He fell into this field naturally since he had the chemistry knowledge and background, but it was not until 1988 when his career in the archaeology of alcohol began.  A colleague brought him a vessel that she believed once contained wine and she requested McGovern to test it.  Her hunch was correct, and McGovern's destiny was locked as others found out about his work and capitalized on it.

 

Soon McGovern was traveling the Old World, visiting sites and museums to test artifacts to learn more about alcohol creation and consumption.  He eventually discovered the world's oldest beer, wine, and alcoholic beverages, as well as the world's first chocolate.  He has published widely on these discoveries, authoring numerous articles and several books.  This led to him joining the public talk circuit as he was invited to both academic and professional conferences on topics related to alcohol.

 

Figure 2: Midas Touch Ale (Source: Boston)

 

It was in 2000 when McGovern's collaboration with Dogfish Head Brewery began.  At a talk hosted by his current workplace, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, McGovern disclosed that he was interested in recreating a brew discovered in King Midas's tomb, and he invited any and all interested professional brewers to meet with him the next day to discuss a collaboration.  While several brewers representing various breweries met with him he teamed up with the members of Dogfish Head Brewery in part because he loved their beer.  This led to the creation of their first ancient ale, Midas Touch (Figure 2), and they have been working together ever since.  Their ancient ales series includes ancient beers derived recipes discovered in China, Egypt, and the Middle East, all of which are based on the biomolecular work conducted by McGovern.

 

McGovern continues to work at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, serving as their Scientific Director of Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health, and he works as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the university.  He keeps busy analyzing artifacts to further his research on beer, as well as investigating new recipes for Dogfish Head Brewery.

Bibliography

Columbus, C. (2017, June 30). Meet The Indiana Jones Of Ancient Ales And Extreme Beverages. National Public Radion (NPR).

McGovern, P. E. (No Date). About. Retrieved from Patrick E. McGovern, Biomolecular Archaeology Project: https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/?page_id=2

Searles, J. (2018, April 30). Brewing Relics: Archaeologist Patrick McGovern uncovers the secrets of ancient ales and wines. The Growler.

Tucker, A. (2011, August). The Beer Archaeologist. Smithsonian Magazine.

Family Ties: The Anthropology of Kinship & Descent

Example of matrilineal descent pattern over five generations.

If someone were to ask you about your family what would you tell them?  Would you acknowledge both your mother’s and father’s side of the family (even if you did not know one or the other), or would you only discuss one?  This may seem like a strange question, but within the study of anthropology it is actually a typical and legitimate question.  The reason is that while families and kinship are culturally universal how one defines their family will vary by cultural group.  Today’s blog post will address patterns of descent that exist cross-culturally, specifically breaking down the different types of unilineal descent compared to bilateral descent.

 

First, it is important to understand what descent refers to within an anthropological context.  Descent refers to the permanent social group where members share a common ancestor.  This membership can be identified in a variety of ways, such as by family name or clan membership.  Ultimately, all members of the group, no matter how far removed from their immediate family, all fall within the same familial group at some level. 

 

This membership, however, may not be recognized by all individuals who are family by blood or marriage.  Descent can be further divided into two types: unilineal or bilateral descent.  Unilineal descent is when only one parent’s lineage is recognized.  If it is the father’s then it is called patrilineal descent, and if it is the mother’s then it is known as matrilineal descent.  In these cases the other parent’s family is not considered your kin/family.  Therefore, if you exist in a unilineal, specifically patrilineal, descent pattern only your father’s family would be considered family and only your mother would be considered family.  All of her relatives (e.g. your maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) would not be acknowledged as kin.  If, however, your family recognizes both parents’ family as kin then you and your family are practicing bilateral kinship.  This means that both paternal and maternal sides of the families are acknowledged and recognized as family members. 

 

For those who practice bilateral kinship patterns (commonly practiced among modern Westernized cultural groups) unilineal descent patterns may seem very strange.  These kinship patterns can exist to allow for cousin marriages/unions, typically as a form of maintaining family ties and keeping wealth in the family unit.  It could have also evolved out of a lack of marriage partners among non-blood kin, thereby creating a need to identify family from non-family members to avoid culturally defined incest infractions. 

 

Ultimately, kinship patterns exist as a means of creating and fostering social networks.  Those who are considered family are often treated differently from those who are not.  Through these interactions greater societal networks can be created, and they are maintained through a series of social norms and behaviors defined by the cultural group. 

References

Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2014).  Cultural Anthropology McGraw-Hill  

Welsch, R.L. & L.A. Vivanco.  (2015).  Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions About Humanity.  Oxford University Press.