Barley Eurasian civilizations, as a whole, have survived and conquered others. Barley beer was probably one of the first alcoholic drinks developed by Neolithic humans. Barley later on was used as currency. The ancient Sumerian word for barley was "akiti". In ancient Mesopotamia, a stalk of barley was the primary symbol of the goddess Shala. Alongside emmer wheat, barley was a staple cereal of ancient Egypt, where it was used to make bread and beer. The general name for barley is "jt" (hypothetically pronounced "eat"); "šma" (hypothetically pronounced "SHE-ma") refers to Upper Egyptian barley and is a symbol of Upper Egypt.
Alcoholic drinks in China liquor, the seed mash described above can also be made to be eaten or drunk as a sweet dessert. Traditional Chinese medicine frequently employed alcoholic drinks (associated with yin) and alcoholic drinks were likewise used as medicine. Alcohol including extracts of plants, herbs, animal parts, or minerals are not as common as they once were but may still be encountered. One example of such a medicinal alcoholic drink is realgar wine: consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival, realgar wine consisted of "huangjiu" mixed with realgar, an arsenic sulfide also used as an insecticide. It appears in the Chinese legend of