An archaeological dig at Qiaotou, a town in the Zhejiang province of China, yielded a couple of clay pots—some even decorated and painted with designs of their own—which were dated to be around 9,000 years old, and were found alongside two human remains. The research team suspected that the clay pots were more than just decoration; thus they sent samples of what remained inside the pots for analysis, together with samples of the soil surrounding the dig site as control.
The team was on the lookout for specific remnants that may imply that the vessel was once used for alcohol brewing: starch and fungi microfossils, as well as residual plant matter called phytoliths. The presence of the three implies that whatever it was that contained them were once used for fermentation. Any results obtained were then compared to any similar results found in the control soil samples, to eliminate the possibility of the detections simply being contamination from the soil surrounding it.
True enough, the samples sent in obtained from the clay pots yielded the microfossils and phytoliths that they were looking for—the pots once housed alcohol, possibly 9,000 years ago. Study co-author Jiajing Wang mentioned that their results “revealed that the pottery vessels were used to hold beer, in its most general sense,” and that the alcoholic beverage housed within the pots were probably made of rice (Oryza sp.), a grain called “Job’s tears” (Coix lacryma-jobi), and “unidentified tubers.” Wang also said that the alcohol the pots once housed were likely much different compared to the alcoholic beverages we enjoy today, saying that the alcohol it once housed was a “slightly fermented and sweet beverage,” and was “probably cloudy in color.”
Given the proximity of the findings with human remains, the researchers believe the alcohol wasn’t produced for everyday consumption, much like how it is used today; humanity hasn’t been cultivating rice for long during this time, so any alcoholic beverage made with it may have been rare. The researchers believe it was instead used for special occasions like burial, which they say is likely the reason why it was found alongside human skeletons. The dig site itself was apparently far from any evidence of residential structures, further adding to their findings.
Wang added: “If people had some leftover rice and the grains became moldy, they may have noticed that the grains became sweeter and alcoholic with age. While people may not have known the biochemistry associated with grains that became moldy, they probably observed the fermentation process and leveraged it through trial and error.” The find may be the oldest evidence obtained so far for fermentation of alcohol using mold, and it is likely the oldest evidence for beer-making in China. However, it is not the oldest in the world—that title goes to a 13,000-year-old find in Israel back in 2018.
Bibliography
- Irving, M. (2021, September 1). Ancient beer was brewed from rice 9,000 years ago. New Atlas. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://newatlas.com/science/9000-year-old-beer-china/
- Wang, J., Jiang, L., & Sun, H. (08 12, 21). Early evidence for beer drinking in a 9000-year-old platform mound in southern China. PLOS ONE, 16(8), e0255833. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255833
