The oldest beers and wines that have been discovered

Did you know that beers and wines have been the oldest alcoholic beverages of which we have news? And that there is a theory rolling around that ensures that both writing and agriculture-perhaps two of the most important technologies of humanity-were born, or invented, thanks to these drinks?

It seems joke, but the truth is that alcohol has been present in human life since prehistoric times, so we will talk about the oldest beers and wines that have been found.

The oldest beers and wines that have been discovered

China, ancient Egypt, the Vikings, pre-Inca cultures, Sumeria, ancient Greece or the Canaanites are some of the towns where traces of manufacturing both beer have been found as of wine, as well as special sites for storage.

In China, in 2004, a group of archaeologists found a site today considered as the oldest brewery , in the province of Shannxi , north of the country; they found traces of an alcoholic concoction whose base was honey, some type of fruits and rice, with an age of at least 5,000 years.

The first months of 2016, Jiajing Wang and his colleagues at Stanford University They published an article where they give an account of their investigations: they examined remains of amphorae, vessels, vessels and funnels at the Mijaiya site, in Shaanxi, and the evidence indicates that they were instruments for the elaboration, filter and storage of beer In the vessels they got a yellow layer containing starch fragments and microscopic particles of silica (called phytoliths ), which are generated in the cereal husks-barley, sorghum, coix, millet-, and whose radiocarbon dating places them between 4,900 and 5,000 years old.They also found compounds Organic coughs that occur when cereals are macerated and fermented.That is, it was a brewery .

We are now going to ancient Egypt, to the dark depths of the tomb of the predinastic king Horus Scorpion I, who ruled by 3200 BC; Here the researchers discovered the oldest wine of this nation : they found remains of tree and herb resins such as coriander, sage and mint with the old alcohol.Many of these additives were used to flavor, but others they had healing properties.

Alcohol breaks down alkaloids from plants and is a perfect vehicle for natural medicines.Archaeologists have known Egyptian medicinal cocktails thanks to papyri of 3,800 years old, but the wines discovered in this tomb they give a date of a millennium ago, evidencing their precedent to the arrival of the Egyptian vineyards.

Another extraordinary discovery, of beers and wines, was the one made in the highlands of southern Peru, where the members of the pre-Inca culture Huari prepared corn beer ong>, known as girl , on a massive scale more than 1,000 years ago.Researchers at the Chicago Field Museum discovered this factory, in which they estimate they could produce thousands of liters of girl at day .

Archaeologists believe that drinking girls was an important part of the politics of this town, which according to the records invited officials from remote regions to participate in the festivities of this beer.

Another archeological find of ancient beer was found at the Sumerian trading post, Godin Tepe , in the Zagros Mountains, that long mountain range that runs from Iraq to Iran.Here they discovered a deposit with abundant storage pots, with traces of barley beer.As you undoubtedly know, the Sumerians were one of the most important ancient cultures, where writing was invented.Here they laid the foundations for the development of a complex society, with trade and r agriculture iego .His favorite beverage was beer, and Sumerian art often represents meetings where people drink in bowls.A supercurious fact: the beer pictogram is one of the most common found in the Sumerian ruins.

On the other hand, in 2013, a group of archaeologists unearthed ancient ceramics , where they found 6,200-year-old wine residues, in the prehistoric settlement Dikili Tash-or Dikilitas-, in Greece.Ceramic analysis revealed traces of tartaric acid, a byproduct of fermentation.

But little is known about this settlement; it was only in the last excavations that the researchers managed to penetrate deeper levels of the colony, and in the excavation of a Neolithic house of 6,200 years old they came across carbonized grape seeds and their skin, sure signal of having pressed the grape to prepare wine, which makes it the oldest European wine .

And if we go to northern Europe, to Scandinavia, we will find incredible data., archaeologists discovered the corpse of a 3,500-year-old woman holding a strainer for bronze alcohol.The chemical analysis revealed an ancient concoction made from barley, honey, blueberries, herbs and wines imported from southern Europe-which also shows the existing commercial exchange even at that time–.

This drink is known as grog , Nordic alcohol found in vessels and vessels buried in tombs of warriors and priestesses, and probably e a drink of the upper class.In 1920 a burial was discovered in Denmark very well preserved of a young priestess, who was nicknamed "Girl of Egtved", with a bucket of grog at his feet; in other tombs wine kits were found that came from southern Europe, associated with women, which for the researchers could be evidence that they were responsible for the manufacture of the grog, and who served the warriors .

Finally, the oldest known winery is in the Middle East, specifically in Israel.In this winery were found 40 large ceramic vessels to store alcoholic beverages; 5 meters by 8 meters and could hold up to 500 gallons of wine.

This winery was discovered in Tel Kabri , north of Israel, and dates from 1700 BC It was part of a extensive palace occupied by the Canaanites, who once controlled Lebanon and Israel.Ancient texts allude to the presence of wines spiced with herbs, but never before had been discovered.In 1600 BC, an earthquake destroyed Tel Kabri, burying the cellar for millennia.The analysis indicates that many of the wines were preserved and seasoned with resins and herbs, such as juniper, myrtle or mint, making it similar to Greek resin wine.

All these data shed light on human behavior towards alcohol.Beers and wines have obviously been of remarkable importance in the societies that preceded us, and prove that since prehistory alcoholic beverages have been used for ritual purposes and, of course, entertainment.

Yes did you like the safe article you will enjoy reading: The beer between us from the Neolithic ?, and Wine with cocaine, the one that Pio X and Leon XIII drank.

Images: National Museum of Denmark, Robin Zebrowski, ancient-origins.net, Maia C, Anguskirk