<< News >> World's oldest tipple discovered in China
Submitted by vicky on Tuesday, 07 December 2004 Page Views: 2798
Multi-periodCountry: China Type: Ancient Village or SettlementInternal Links:
Chemical tests on ancient fragments of broken pottery show that Chinese villagers were brewing alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC. That beats the previous record for the oldest evidence of brewing, found in Iran and dated at about 5400 BC.
The oldest known Chinese texts, from the Shang dynasty period of 1200 BC to 1046 BC, mention three types of alcoholic drink. Archaeologists had suspected that fermented drinks had been developed much earlier because older bronze vessels and pottery resembled those used for the Shang dynasty drinks.
However, solid evidence had been lacking until a Chinese-American team studied potsherds - radiocarbon-dated at 7000 BC to 6600 BC - from the oldest portion of Jiahu, a village from the Neolithic period in Henan province. This cultural period is characterised by primitive crop growing and the use of flint tools and weapons.
The team compared residues extracted from the potsherds with liquids remaining in tightly sealed vessels dated to the Shang dynasty. Their analysis of the Jiahu residues revealed traces of compounds found in rice, as well as the ancient Shang dynasty wines.
More: New Scientist online
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