Science The Independent Archaeologists uncover Bronze Age Chinese secret to brewing red rice wine

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Bronze Age pottery unearthed in northwest China has revealed the secret to making red rice wine that was ceremonially consumed in the region in the second millennium BC.

Previous research has indicated that ancient China’s Mogou people used a range of plant resources in their diets and even brewed alcoholic beverages using an ancient fermentation method called qu.

This method used a starter culture consisting of a brick of microbes that grew on grains, including Aspergillus mould, yeast and bacteria. Qu originated in Neolithic eastern China and spread to the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau by the Bronze Age.

It was known that the Mogou ceremonially consumed rice wine brewed this way, but it had rarely been found.

“Recent research has highlighted the widespread presence and use of cereal-based fermented beverages in Neolithic China. However studies focusing on early Bronze Age cultures remain limited,” according to a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports.

Researchers found pottery showing evidence of alcohol fermented using the qu method and consumed ritually at a Mogou burial site in China’s Gansu province sometime between 1700 and 1100BC.

The burials spanned two ancient cultural periods, the Qijia from 2300 to 1500BC and the Siwa from 1400 to 1100BC. Some of these burials had side chambers situated at varying depths within the walls and containing ceramic objects above the interred’s head.

Pottery vessels found in the side chambers offered archaeologists a rare opportunity to determine whether the Mogou consumed fermented beverages and what brewing methods they likely used.

Researchers analysed residue remains in about 42 pottery vessels spanning different periods at the Mogou site.

They identified the use of various plants in these residues, such as rice, millet, Job’s tears, buckwheat, and plants belonging to the Triticeae family, including barley and wheat.

The study confirmed previous research findings that the Mogou people consumed a diverse range of plant foods during the second millennium BC.

Starch residues from the vessels also showed signs of enzyme action, confirming fermentation, likely part of the qu alcohol brewing method.

“The Mogou people brewed alcoholic beverages using the qu method, preparing the fermentation starter mainly with rice and Monascus mold,” researchers wrote.

“This qu-based beverage, made from a variety of cereals, played a significant role in their mortuary practices.”