Alcoholic Beverage - History

History

People around the world, since ancient times, have been drinking alcoholic beverages. Reasons for drinking alcoholic beverages vary and include:

• part of a standard diet
• medical purposes
• relaxant effects
• euphoric effects
• recreational purposes
• artistic inspiration
• putative aphrodisiac effects

Examination and analysis of ancient pottery jars from the neolithic village of Jiahu in Henan province in northern China revealed residue left behind by the alcoholic beverages they once contained. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, chemical analysis of the residue confirmed that a fermented drink made from fruit, rice, and honey was being produced in 7000–6600 BCE. The results of this analysis was published in December 2004. This drink, as of now, precedes the evidence of grape wine from the Middle East by more than 500 years. Winemaking first appears dating from 6000 BCE in Georgia. Evidence of alcoholic beverages has also been found dating from 3150 BCE in ancient Egypt, 3000 BCE in Babylon, 2000 BCE in pre-Hispanic Mexico, and 1500 BC in Sudan. Distilled alcoholic beverages were first recorded in Europe in the mid-12th century. By the early 14th century, they had spread throughout the European continent.