When human beings ceased to be nomadic hunter-gatherers and settled in the first organised

When human beings ceased to be nomadic hunter-gatherers and settled in the first organised communities to farm the land, their purpose was to grow grain and brew beer.
The beer was consumed by the high priestesses.Archaeological artefacts at least 5,000 years old found in Mesopotamia in the 1920s first suggested this, and there have been further discoveries in recent times, including the latest from Ancient Egypt.Much of the work on the social origins of beer has been done by Professor Sol Katz at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.The cultivation of barley and wheat and the brewing of beer may have spread west at a very early stage through regions that are now Armenia, southern Russia and Slovakia.Another route may have been north by the Urals to Estonia, Finland, Scandinavia and the Scottish islands.Shards of neolithic pottery were used as the basis for a light, honeyish, herb-flavoured beer made by Glenfiddich nearly a decade ago.Soon afterwards, Sumerian tablets were the basis for an “ancient” beer, honeyish, sherryish and nutty, made by the Anchor brewery of San Francisco.Both of these re-creations, exhibited a similar sweetness, partly due to a lack of the dry flavours imparted since by hops.Beer is a fermented drink made from grain, but the sweetness has been balanced by fruits, herbs and spices. There were a small number of problems blown out of all proportion but women have been left with the feeling there is something ‘dodgy’ about this.”David Bromham, senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, says that the “trial by media” was unjustified and would prevent new and improved implants becoming available.. It has received a disproportionate amount of bad publicity.”A spokesman for Hoechst Roussel said prescriptions for Norplant were 100 per cent down on the same period last year “In the long-run, women are the losers. We have here a product which has been well received by the medical profession and by the vast majority of users, killed off by an unholy alliance of the media, lawyers and government bureaucracy.

Doctors have to be trained in insertion and removal and about 8,000 have taken the course to date. Problems have arisen when untrained doctors have attempted to fit or remove the implant.Ruth Griggs of the Family Planning Association said yesterday: “Unfortunately, no one can stop untrained doctors from doing this but it has resulted in problems for some women Norplant is safe and effective for many women. However, it attracted criticism in the United States from the moral majority and religious groups for encouraging promiscuity.Norplant also became something of a civil rights issue there after some judges appeared to be adopting it as a form of punishment for women who abused their children. Schools in Los Angeles and Baltimore provided it for pupils and there were claims that benefit agencies were forcing young, single mothers to use it as a condition of benefit.Norplant consists of six matchstick-sized rods worn under the skin of the upper arm which release the hormone levonorgestrel They cannot be seen but can be felt. “We just wanted to sit down with the company and get them to acknowledge the problems that hundreds of women are suffering – acne, weight gain, heavy bleeding, mood swings – that their doctors didn’t warn them about.”Known as the “fit and forget” contraceptive, Norplant – made by Hoechst Roussel – has been used by millions of women for over 20 years with no major problems reported.

But she said yesterday she did not want to stop women using it. No writs have been issued to date.Caroline Foster, 26, of the Norplant Action Group, which has campaigned over the implant, has had three operations on her arm after a botched removal of the implant. The personal details usually appeared with the woman’s permission and her address would be sold by a “middle man” for correspondence with a prospective buyer. Tours could also be arranged for buyers to meet all the women they had written to, so that they could choose the most suitable wife.”There are wife-seeking tours when men can meet lots of women, have sex with as many as they want, and then choose one for a wife,” Dr Hughes said. Britain’s North Sea fishermen were dealt a new blow yesterday as the Brussels Commission slashed herring catches by half in an emergency bid to stop the stock being wiped out altogether. The women were very vulnerable because they believed a life in the West was preferable to their own existence.