> Alcohol let our ancestors survive. Only true in dense cities and perhaps onboard seafaring vessels. Most of humanity could find unpolluted sources of water.

> Alcohol let our ancestors survive. Only true in dense cities and perhaps onboard seafaring vessels. Most of humanity could find unpolluted sources of water. You could also say that, without the crutch that was small beer, humanity might have been motivated to learn and implement water treatment/purification techniques and proper sanitation systems centuries earlier.