Water Mixed with Wine - A Cup for Both

As we surveyed Greece’s National Archeological Museum this afternoon, it was astonishing to see so many artifacts that entirely represent objects in the present: much of the jewelry from 3500 years ago is still fashionable, the concepts of strainers and other kitchen utensils have hardly changed, and things like scalpels and other medical instruments (I was told by a fellow student that the stone they used back then was actually sharper than the metal we use for present day surgical appliances) are easily identifiable. Placing all of this aside, the most surprising archeological find that was applicable to contemporary times was also Dr. Finitsis’ favorite: a hedgehog sippy cup (see below) belonging to the Early Cycladic II Period (2800 - 2300 BC).

It was deemed by many as “the cutest thing I’ve ever seen”, however its significance stretches much further than this. Low and behold, the placard adjacent to the hedgehog labeled it as “the original sippy cup”, used for toddlers as they drank water and milk (or possibly wine?). Because the hedgehog’s interior is hollow, once the liquid reached a certain point, it would no longer leak out into the hedgehog’s bowl and thus the mother/father would have to feed the rest of the drink to the child (controlling the amount of liquid the infant consumes).

A little research has proven that this animal theme has been essential in the evolution of sippy cups from then until now. Ceramic cups from sunken cargo of Arab and Indian ships in the 9^th century, used by infants in wealthy Persian and Arab households, have played along with this motif. By including images of fish at the bottom of the drinking vessel (as seen in this picture), the child would be amused after finishing her/his drink and accordingly was conditioned that drinking from this cup would produce a kind of reward. Moreover, we know that these cups were suggested as a means of weaning infants from their mother’s breast, as pediatric treatises from this time support this use (information courtesy of http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/220).

The motif is further obvious in today’s array of sippy cups; many of us are familiar with the animal-infused drinking cup that is shown below. Young children adore these objects for the very same reason, and interestingly enough, they seem to have been comparable amused some 4000 years ago.