Over 5,000-year-old vessel for alcohol found in China

(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists have discovered on the territory of the Xinghuacun village (Shanxi Province, Northern China) a vessel for alcohol, whose age is more than 5 thousand years.

As the newspaper notes, excavations in the village, on the territory of which a large center for the production of baijiu (a traditional strong alcoholic drink) is currently located, have been conducted since 1982.

The find is a clay vessel with a pointed bottom, the embossed finish of which, according to researchers, bears the features of the archaeological culture of Yangshao, which existed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River from 5 thousand to 7 thousand years ago.

Some archaeologists believed that water could be stored in the vessel. However, more thorough studies have shown that only alcohol could be in such a container, the publication points out.

In similar vessels, wine went through the process of fermentation in the Middle East, in ancient Greece and Egypt.

In addition, the vessel is similar in outline to the original spelling of the character “jiu”, which means “alcohol”. A sediment was also found at the bottom of the vessel, which turned out to be a product of the fermentation of cereals.

As a result, it was recognized that this is the oldest container for storing alcohol and, in fact, the oldest alcohol found on the territory of modern China.

As the newspaper notes, the find gives the right to believe that the history of the manufacture of alcoholic beverages in China has about 6 thousand years.

It is also indicated that the vessel was transferred to the winemaking museum in the village of Xinghuacun, which is considered one of the most ancient baijiu production sites in China. The history of making this strong drink there dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

This is not the first such find in China. So, for example, in October last year, archaeologists discovered a vessel with an alcoholic drink, whose age is estimated at more than 5 thousand years, near the village of Yanshao in Henan province. In March 2018, a bronze vessel filled with liquor was discovered in Shaanxi Province (Northwest China).

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