2,000 Year Old Alcohol Drinks Found in China

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BEIJING - Archaeologists in Shaanxi Province, China, claim to have found 300 milliliters of alcohol, rumored to be 2,000 years old and tucked away in a bronze pot.

The bronze pot was discovered by a team from the Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute, while digging 56 ancient tombs in the Xixian District.

The majority of the 49 ancient tombs found are recorded from the Warring States Period, a term for the period of Chinese conquest by the Qin Dynasty in 475 to 206 BC.

Meanwhile, other ancient tombs originated from the Han Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, the last two dynasties led China.

More than 260 objects were recovered from all the ancient tombs, but 300 milliliters of alcohol, perhaps the most surprising.

Archaeologists say that the bronze pot is sealed by natural fibers, which will help keep the fluid intact inside.

"The alcoholic drink is white like milk, when we find it, though a bit muddy," said Dr. Zhang Yanglizheng, leader of related studies.

"Through testing, it is known that the liquid consists of high concentrations of amino acids, as well as small amounts of protein and fatty acids, which make it similar to the yellow rice wine we drink today," Dr Zhang continued.

Interestingly, the alcoholic beverage was found in the graves of ordinary people, not from the royal family. This may indicate that alcoholic beverages were widespread in the Qin Dynasty community, 2,000 years ago.

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Ancient Alcohol Drink Discovery in China

In recent times, the discovery of ancient alcoholic beverages, sparked more advanced research that reveals a variety of interesting mysteries.

Not even a year ago, a joint team of researchers from Georgia, France, and the United States, found evidence of wine remaining in clay pots in Georgia.

The find is thought to be about 8,000 years old, making it the oldest wine ever found.

Thereafter, a wine of about 7,000 years old, was found in a clay pot in northern Iran.

The rice wine in Shaanxi is not the first ancient alcoholic beverage found in China.

In 2003, the BBC news agency reported that archaeologists in Xi'an, found as many as five liters of rice wine in the noble tomb complex from the Han Dynasty.

While in 2012, again in Shaanxi, a team finds bottles of liquid chemicals, and is thought to originate from the Western Zhou period.

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