# could American Indians and Australian Aborigines consume alcohol "normally" in lower concentrations?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-american-indians-and-australian-aborigines-consume-alcohol-normally-in-lower-concentrations/547539>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 22, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-american-indians-and-australian-aborigines-consume-alcohol-normally-in-lower-concentrations/547539 "2010-07-22T01:11:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-american-indians-and-australian-aborigines-consume-alcohol-normally-in-lower-concentrations/547539/21 "2010-07-22T17:06:24Z")

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By the way, I once read an article (don’t remember which journal, but it was one of the upper-echelon peer-reviewed social science journals) describing how, when distilled liquor first became widely available in Europe, it caused social problems until the culture was able to assimilate it. Basically, people were used to drinking wine and beer; there was no cultural framework for the drinking of spirits. So, introducing a new intoxicant into a culture tends to lead to abuse, regardless of the culture.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-american-indians-and-australian-aborigines-consume-alcohol-normally-in-lower-concentrations/547539/22 "2010-07-22T17:17:58Z")

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> [@code\_grey](#):
>
> Or is your overall approach not to think about such matters at all in a systematic manner and respond to any counter evidence with “it’s all poverty and racism to blame” mantra?

> [@Odesio](#):
>
> Did I kick your puppy? Do I have asshole printed on my forehead? Did someone pee in your Cheerios this morning? Or is your post hostile only because I have the temerity to question an accepted factoid?

[Moderator Note]

While I think **code\_grey’s** post was unnecessarily snarky, I also think **Odesio’s** post is just serving to further ratcheting things up. This is GQ. Let’s dial it back a bit, and avoid making personal remarks about another poster’s intentions or viewpoint. No warning issued.

Colibri  
General Questions Moderator

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-american-indians-and-australian-aborigines-consume-alcohol-normally-in-lower-concentrations/547539/23 "2010-07-23T08:16:52Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> Many Central and South American Indians made (and still make) mild alcoholic drinks, often called [chicha fuerte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha), from fermented corn or cassava.

It’s likely that that’s what these Indians had instead of wine. Exactly what alcoholic beverage they had did not stick in my memory, just that it was mild compared to distilled spirits.

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