New study identifies 10,000-year-old alcohol fermentation technique in China

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A new study has found evidence of rice beer dating back about 10,000 years at a cultural site in China, unveiling the origins of early rice domestication and rice alcohol fermentation in Asia.

The Shangshan culture in ancient China's Lower Yangtze region is central to understanding the origins of rice domestication and early alcohol fermentation, according to the study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers of Stanford University, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology used various methods to study artifacts from the early phase of the Shangshan site in China, dating back to 10,000 years ago.

By analyzing microscopic remains, including phytoliths, starch granules, and fungi, associated with pottery vessels, they found evidence suggesting that the Shangshan people not only used rice as a staple food but also as a raw material for brewing fermented beverages.

This marks the earliest known alcohol fermentation technique in East Asia, according to the study.

These alcoholic drinks likely played a significant role in ceremonies, possibly encouraging the widespread cultivation of rice in ancient China, according to the study.

"In 2012, when we began studying ancient alcoholic beverages, I hypothesized that Shangshan pottery jars may have been used for fermentation," Li Liu, a professor at Stanford University's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, first author of the study, told Xinhua in an interview.

"Our analysis of early Neolithic pottery jars from the Yellow River region provided evidence of alcoholic fermentation, which subsequently guided us to investigate Shangshan materials more closely," she said.

Scientific evidence from the earliest Shangshan phase confirms that rice domestication and the production of rice alcoholic beverages were closely intertwined. These activities went beyond mere subsistence, playing significant roles in ritual and ceremonial practices, according to Liu.

"Based on current findings, we believe that the origins of these two technologies (rice domestication and early alcohol fermentation) can be traced to southern China, particularly along the Yangtze River region," Liu told Xinhua.