10,000-Year-Old Rice Beer Was The First Known Booze In East Asia

The rice beer was produced using a technique that is still used in Taiwan.

Benjamin Taub
Freelance Writer

Edited
by
Francesca Benson

An alcoholic beverage made from moldy rice may have provided the spark that led to the widespread adoption of agriculture in East Asia. Having detected remnants of this ancient rice beer on 10,000-year-old pottery vessels in China, researchers believe that the boozy substance was probably consumed during ceremonial feasts and dramatically altered the culture and lifestyle of prehistoric societies across the region.

While the question of when and how rice was first domesticated remains a matter of debate, the Shangshan culture of China’s Lower Yangzi River region is widely considered to have played a significant role. To learn more about this process, the authors of a new study analyzed microfossil remains on pottery sherds from the early phase of the Shangshan archaeological record, which stretches back ten millennia.

When assessing the residues on fermentation and serving vessels - such as globular jars, cups, and bowls - the researchers found high quantities of rice starch, particles of rice husks, and fungi. Based on these results, it appears that the receptacles once held rice-based fermented liquids that were made using a starter compound called jiuqu or qu.

Consisting of molds from the Monascus genus and yeast, qu was used to create beer from rice – as indeed it still is today in parts of Taiwan. Further analysis revealed that the ancient beverage also contained small amounts of other cereals, as well as acorns and lilies.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/10000-year-old-rice-beer-was-the-first-known-booze-in-east-asia-77181