We see a similar connection between large-scale, centralized production of alcohol and the beginnings of political and ideological unity in other regions of the world where great civilizations independently arose. We have seen that the rulers of the Erlitou and Shang cultures in the Yellow River Valley of China appear to have derived their power from rituals powered by various beers and fruit wines, while the standardization and large-scale production of chicha was a crucial tool used by the Incas in the South American Andes to consolidate their empire.
