Archaeologists discover 10,000-year-old rice beer recipe in China

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “These sherds were associated with various vessel types, including those for fermentation, serving, storage, cooking, and processing,” study co-author Jiang Leping from China’s Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology said. A “significant presence” of domesticated rice fossil remains was found in the pottery residues as well as tiny fossils of starch granules, Job’s tears, barnyard grass, Triticeae, acorns, and lilies, scientists said. open image in gallery Plant procurement: collecting wild plants and harvesting rice plant processing: for food and pottery making food processing: cooking food and making qu starter with molds, yeast, and rice food consumption: eating and drinking Overall, these findings confirm that the pottery residues were directly linked to fermentation activities. “Domesticated rice provided a stable resource for fermentation, while favourable climatic conditions supported the development of qu-based fermentation technology, which relied on the growth of filamentous fungi,” Liu Li, another author of the study, said.