A groundbreaking discovery at the Shangshan site in Pujiang county, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, has been made with a collaborative effort by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and Stanford University.

By analyzing 12 pottery fragments collected from the site, researchers uncovered evidence of rice wine production dating back 10,000 years, marking the earliest known evidence of rice wine in the world.

Published in the esteemed academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA on Dec 10, the findings shed light on the origins of rice cultivation, early societal structures, and the spread of technical knowledge in East Asia.

The team identified various plant starch grains in the pottery residues, including rice, Job's tears, and barnyard grass. Many of these grains showed signs of enzyme hydrolysis and gelatinization, indicating a fermentation process.

The discovery also includes fungi components like monascus and yeast cells, which are closely linked to traditional brewing practices.

"These remains, to some extent, can prove that people may have mastered rice wine brewing techniques in the early stages of Shangshan Culture," said Zhang Jianping from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

Shangshan Culture, a Neolithic culture from 11,000 to 8,500 years ago in the Jinqu Basin in the middle and western part of Zhejiang, has been widely recognized as a source of rice agriculture with many related relics found in its sites.

Zhang suggested that the emergence of rice wine production was likely intertwined with the domestication of rice and the warm and wet climate of the early Holocene era. "The stability of domesticated rice and the conducive environment for fungal growth facilitated the advancement of alcohol fermentation technology."

The emergence of rice wine may have been one of the key factors driving the widespread cultivation, utilization, and dissemination of rice in Neolithic China and further indicates the significant role of rice in the Shangshan Culture, added Zhang.