Binge and Excess

Origins of the Binge

Early humans lived in a seasonal world, eating what was available and lacking the ability to store a surplus, so they would binge when they could get a large amount of food in a short time, for example when a small group killed a large mammoth, or during the few days when wild berries were naturally fermenting. These eating binges probably gave rise to the universal human custom of feasting, celebrations in which consuming large amounts of food and drink are accompanied by singing, dance, and other rituals. Every culture has some form of social feasting, and in some cases participants are expected to lose control, pass out, or engage in sexual behavior that would normally be considered deviant or transgressive. In later civilizations, public festivals became a common setting for bingeing, and today many countries continue carnival traditions where the normal rules against public excess are suspended for days or even weeks at a time. In many cultures, people report that a binge creates a sense of great joy and freedom, usually followed by a period of hangover, depression, and recovery.

Excessive displays of extraordinary wealth were a constant feature of the early states and kingdoms of the Old and New Worlds throughout prehistory and early historical periods. These often centered on the rulers' courts, on religious and calendrical festivals, and especially the events surrounding the burials of important people—the great pyramids of Egypt are a conspicuous monument to excess. The display and conspicuous consumption of wealth are seen by many anthropologists as forms of advertisement of the economic health of the polity, but this excessive consumption often became an end in itself, and competition would eventually undermine economic and social stability.

Another form of the binge emerged historically in seventeenth-century Europe among male miners, loggers, hunters, traders, soldiers, and sailors whose work took them away from home, often exposed to great danger, for long periods of time. After working months or years in difficult conditions, they were usually paid off in a lump sum. Typically, they would binge on alcohol, prostitution, gambling, expensive food, and other forms of recreation until all their money was gone and they had to go back to work. Entire towns, and sections of large cities, were devoted entirely to serving the needs of men on their periodic binges.

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