The World's Oldest Wine Found in China

　

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	The World's Oldest Wine Found in China It is official. Traces of the oldest known wine in the world have been confirmed by an international research team composed of Chinese, American and German scientists. 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. More... Fragrant liquids The prehistoric beverages at Jiahu paved the way for the unique cereal beverages that were found at Anyang , said Patrick McGovern from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. They are from the proto-historic in the second millennium BC. More... Universal phenomenon Throughout history and around the globe, humans at every level of complexity discovered how to make fermented beverages from sugar sources available in their local habitats, according to McGovern. The reason for such a widespread phenomenon of fermented beverages may have, he suggests, derived in part from ethanol's combined pain-relieving, disinfectant and profound mind-altering effects. More... Pottery clues A much earlier history of fermented beverages in China has long been hypothesized based on the shapes and styles of Neolithic pottery vessels, which are similar to the magnificent Shang Dynasty bronze vessels. The vessels were used to present and store fermented beverages. McGovern and his Chinese collaborators concentrated their research on pottery from the Neolithic village of Jiahu, because it is some of the earliest known pottery in China. More... Other known old wines Scientists reported a number of interesting discoveries of old wines in the past decade, before they found and determined the 9,000-year-old wine at the Jiahu ruins, Central China's Henan Province. More... Author: Sheng Liang

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