A team of American and Canadian archaeologists has excavated traces of the oldest wine culture to date in Georgia. The analysed traces of wine on clay pots they found there in the past years prove that wine was already produced 7800 to 8000 years ago. They determined this age using the radiocarbon method.
The scientific director of the team, the anthropologist Patrick McGovern from the US University of Pennsylvania, explained that he and his colleagues were able to detect tartaric acid and other substances typical of wine. The researchers also identified traces of succinic acid, malic acid and citric acid on the shards found. The pottery was made of "porous and ionic material that absorbs liquids and protects them from environmental pollution for thousands of years," they wrote in their recently published study.
The scientists also examined the layers of earth surrounding the jugs. They found traces of pollen, starch, epidermis and grape seeds of Vitis vinifera. "We believe that this is the oldest example of domestication of a wild Eurasian vine intended exclusively for wine production," co-author Stephen Batiuk of the University of Toronto in Canada explained in a statement from his university.
(uka)