Wine and olive oil sure were popular commerce and stored through seasonal change. Storage of grains and fermented items got them through. Not so many nomads were in Europe, just traders back and forth.
I'm surprised by the lack of fermentation in China. According to "The Art of Fermentation" Sandor Katz, they were conisours of tofu. Chinese black beans, Sechwan pickling was big, and yeast balls." Chinese alcoholic beverages seem to precede the earliest stages of Chinese civilization.[1] They include rice and grape wine, beer, and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world." according to wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_alcoholic_beveragesAs for lack of tolerance for drink, it could be about social norms of consumption. Also a big factor in all of these is that alcohol tolerance requires a degree of practice to overcome the status of a lightweight's consumption. I don't see the correlation of race and tolerances as being demonstrated.
Having spent years as a substance abuse counselor and decades as an avid consumer, I can go on and on that problems with alcohol as addictions, etc. are caused by early childhood abuse, family dynamics and socially sanctioned behaviors, much more than physical racial characteristics. Approximately 10% of the population drinks 90% of the alcohol in the US. Most people now and therefore most likely in "olden times" were okay with drinking in moderation. Yes, the water often sucked, so they drank safe beverages. There used to be a lot of good clean water in the Americas. It was more precious out here in the western deserts. It was gathered and stored in earthen bottles and left around strategically for the dry times. Here, the agave was and is used for sweetener, "honey water" pulque. It is sweat and carbs. It wasn't just an alcohol thing. Corn beer-like Native substances that I have experimented with, can take a barrel to get plastered. Many Bolivian Natives only consume traditional booze on special occasions.
Plains peoples had water, they moved with the seasons, and didn't have much storage capacity when moving around. Alcohol was not a frequent thing for them, I surmise.
When you decimate culture, family, identity, pride and treat people as animals, tell them that they are lesser, they are damaged for generations. There is substance abuse and other diseases of social maladies stemming from the wholesale rotten treatment of Native Americans going back hundreds of years. With the punitive measures not recognizing this, the problem is perpetuated and just continues.
JOhn, I'm not so sure that everyone is understanding where this discussion is coming from...oh well.
Jbee