The Origins of Ciders and Meads
Of course if you have plenty of time and resources, you will probably find many variations of their origins, but here's a good place to start...
Origins of Cider - Historians largely agree that apple trees existed along the Nile River Delta as early as 1300 BC, but it is unclear whether cider was ever produced from the fruit. When the Romans arrived in England in 55 BC, they were reported to have found the local Kentish villagers drinking a delicious cider-like beverage made from apples.
According
to ancient records, the Romans and their leader, Julius Caesar, embraced
the pleasant pursuit with enthusiasm. How long the locals had been making
this apple drink prior to the arrival of the Romans is anybody''s guess.
By the beginning of the ninth century, cider drinking was well established
in Europe and a reference made by Charlemagne clearly confirms its popularity.
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here for additional information about the origins of cider.
The Origins of Mead - The Greek
poet Ovid wrote that Bacchus invented mead, and both the Greeks and
Romans identified it with ambrosia, the food of the gods. The ancient
geographer Strabo wrote about Arabian cave dwellers who brewed mead
for their tribal leaders. But mead was invented long before the Greeks
and Romans wrote glowing stories about it.
Mead is thought by some to be the oldest alcoholic beverage invented by man, and it appears almost anywhere in the world where honeybees can be found. It is almost certain that Neolithic people made mead long before they invented writing, probably discovering the process by accident when a jar of mixed honey and water was fermented by wild yeast.
The
oldest archaeological evidence uncovered so far, however, was the discovery
in northern China of jars containing a fermented mixture of rice, honey
and fruit dated to around 7,000 BC. Archaeologists have discovered the
remains of mead in a number of digs, including one cache dating back
to around 500 to 550 BCE. Click
here to learn more about the origins of mead.