Through a barrage of tests that looked at ancient organic compounds preserved in pottery jars that were excavated from Neolithic relics at Jiahu in Central China's Henan Province , they were able to reveal that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit was produced around 9,000 years ago.

This discovery pushes the Chinese history for making alcoholic drinks back by 4,000 years and claims the mantle as the world's earliest wine, beating the previous best by at least 1,000 years.

Also in Henan, known as the cradle of Chinese civilization, the scientists found liquids that were more than 3,000 years old and had been well preserved inside tightly closed bronze vessels.

Excavated from an elite burial area in the city of Anyang in the Yellow River Basin, the vessels date back to the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Western Zhou dynasties (1046-771 BC).

They contained specialized rice and millet "wines." They had been flavoured with herbs, flowers and tree resins, and were similar to herbal wines described in the Shang Dynasty oracle inscriptions, according to researchers.

The researchers involved claim the discoveries from both sites provide the first direct chemical evidence for early fermented beverages in ancient Chinese culture, and will broaden the understanding of the key technological and cultural roles that fermented beverages played in China.

The discoveries were published in the December issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS.

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