In a discovery that could rewrite the history of alcohol production in China, archaeologists found a bronze vessel containing distilled liquor dating back over 3,000 years. The vessel was excavated in 2010 at the Daxinzhuang Ruins in Jinan City, Shandong province, a key site for studying Shang civilization, according to News China.
The bronze vessel, dates back to the late Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1046 BC), known for its contributions in metallurgy and writing. Over the past 3,000 years, the vessel had been damaged by corrosion, but remarkably, the ancient liquid inside was preserved. Archaeologists needed several years to open the vessel, which had been sealed with rust for more than a decade, a process that took nearly 15 years due to severe corrosion.
Once opened, a sample of the liquid was analyzed at the International Joint Laboratory of Environmental and Social Archaeology Research at Shandong University. Scientists confirmed the presence of ethanol, identifying the content as distilled liquor, according to News China. This finding suggests that the production of distilled alcohol in China began much earlier than previously thought, dating back to the late Shang Dynasty.
Wu Meng, an associate researcher at the laboratory and leader of the study, detailed the characteristics of the liquid. "Fruit wine and rice wine made by fermentation without distillation contain sugar and proteins in addition to ethanol. However, the liquid found this time does not contain sugar or proteins, which confirms that it is a distilled liquor," Wu Meng said, according to News China. This indicates that ancient Chinese had mastered distillation techniques over a millennium earlier than previously documented.
Prior to this discovery, archaeologists had uncovered distillation apparatus from the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) at various sites, as well as distilled liquor from the same period. The new findings, however, push back the origin of distilled liquor production in China by more than 1,000 years.
Wu Meng emphasized the historical relevance of the discovery, highlighting that "the origin of distilled liquor in China has always been an important topic in the study of the history of science, technology, and wine culture in the country."
The Daxinzhuang Ruins have been instrumental in deepening the understanding of Shang civilization due to multiple discoveries that have expanded knowledge of its social and economic organization.
In 2023, another team of archaeologists found a bottle over 7,000 years old at the Peiligang site in Henan province, the oldest of its kind in China, linked to the Yangshao culture. Experts suggest that the bottle may have been used to ferment beverages, providing evidence of knowledge of fermentation techniques at that time and enriching the study of the origin of Chinese agricultural civilization.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq