Rebel Science: Neolithic Iran & Wine-Making

Rebel Science: Neolithic Iran & Wine-Making

http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2005/November2005/29-11.htm

30 November 2005 - Scientists are constantly searching for the clue
that will define the origin of man and each new discovery brings
another piece of that puzzle. Patrick McGovern of the University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology recently found
evidence that the first bottles of wine may have been produced as far
back as the Neolithic period-about 6,000 years ago.

McGovern is the author of the book "Ancient Wine: The Search for the
Origins of Viniculture" and is a leader in the field of biochemical
archeology. He has a unique blend of talents that combine the
techniques and methods of chemistry and archeology with his seemingly
insatiable desire to explore the origins of wine.

"Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the
ages," said McGovern on the University of Pennsylvania, MAA Web site.
"Some have even said alcohol was the primary agent for the development
of Western civilization."

One of the important reasons in looking for links to wine-making in
archeological exploration is that the beverages and food that humans
consumed say a lot about the culture of the time and can lead to a
better understanding of who we are today.

Scientists believe that the original inspiration for wine came from
humans observing birds eating berries that had been naturally
fermented. Once the idea caught on, however, other reasons for
maintaining production became important. Wine can become a symbol of
status or prestige. It can be used as an icebreaker and a way to smooth
awkward social situations or to grease relationships with neighboring
communities and improve trade. It can also become important in religion
and the local economy.

The discovery that Stone Age humans were interested in growing fruit
and developing fermentation processes provides many clues into the
lifestyle of early Homo sapiens. The production of wine requires a
relatively "stable base of operations," McGovern stated. His research
suggests that these early Near East and Egyptian communities would have
been more permanent cultures with a stable food supply and domesticated
animals and plants. With this abundance of food came the need for
containers that were durable and made from a material that was easily
pliable-like clay. The porous structure of these clay vessels is what
has made it possible for scientists to analyze wine that is thousands
of years old.

Clay jars designed to hold about 2.5 gallons were found during an
excavation conducted by Mary M. Voigt near the Hajji Firuz Tepe site in
the Northern Zagros Mountains of Iran. A yellowish residue discovered
inside a jar was tested using a variety of analyses including infrared,
liquid chromatographic and wet chemical analyses. The chromatographic
test showed the best proof that this was indeed wine by revealing the
presence of terebinth tree resin.

"In an upland region like Hajji Firuz," McGovern explained, "the wild
grapevine and the terebinth tree grew together and produced their fruit
and resin about the same time of year."

The tree resin was added to the wine during fermentation to help
prevent it from turning to vinegar. The combination of finding these
two components in the jar together and the discovery of clay stoppers,
which are the perfect size to fit the necks of the vessels, in close
vicinity to the jars, all points to the probability that the grape
product inside the jars was indeed wine.

In July 2004, McGovern told William Cocke of National Geographic News
that he will continue his search for physical evidence of what he
called "Stone Age Beaujolais nouveau," (which means either Stone Age
wine ritual or new wine) by traveling to Turkey, where he hopes to find
the origins of grape domestication.

"We're looking in eastern Turkey, because that's where other plants
were domesticated," McGovern said. He hopes to discover the very heart
of historic wine production from which viniculture flowed out into the
rest of world, giving birth to new civilizations.

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