10,000-year-old moldy rice beer was East Asia’s first alcoholic drink

New research has concluded that beer also played an important role in the development of agriculture in the region.

A new paper published in PNAS suggests that an alcoholic beverage made from moldy rice may have been a key catalyst for the development of agriculture in East Asia.

Researchers have identified traces of this ancient rice beer in ceramic vessels with 10 thousand years from the Lower Yangzi River region in China, proposing that its consumption during ceremonial festivals significantly influenced the culture and lifestyle of prehistoric societies.

The Shangshan culture, associated with the domestication of rice, is fundamental to this discovery. To better understand the origins of rice cultivation, scientists analyzed microfossil residues in early Shangshan ceramics. These residues were found in globular jars, cups and bowls, which were likely used for brewing and serving, explains the .

The analysis revealed high levels of rice starchrice husks and fungi, pointing to the use of a starting compound known as jiuqu or thatone mold and yeast mixture still used today in some parts of Taiwan to ferment rice into beer.

Other tests indicated the presence of other cereals, acorns and lilies in the ancient drink. This finding is in line with environmental conditions from the Holocene epoch, when increased temperature and humidity would have encouraged fungal growth, potentially leading to accidental fermentation of leftover rice. Researchers believe that early Shangshan communities recognized the psychoactive effects of this natural fermentation and began to intentionally replicate the process using pottery.

The timing of this innovation coincides with the beginning of Neolithic culture in the region, marked by the shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agriculture. “The people of Shangshan not only used rice as a staple food, but also as a raw material for the production of fermented drinks, marking the oldest alcoholic fermentation technique known in East Asia”, say the researchers.

The findings shed new light on the role of fermented beverages in shaping human history, highlighting alcohol as a possible driver of one of humanity’s most significant cultural revolutions.