Posted on 03/16/2007 3:58:20 PM PDT by blam
Ancient Mashed Grapes Found in Greece
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Ancient Grapes
March 16, 2007 — Either the ancient Greeks loved grape juice, or they were making wine nearly 6,500 years ago, according to a new study that describes what could be the world’s earliest evidence of crushed grapes.
If the charred 2,460 grape seeds and 300 empty grape skins were used to make wine, as the researchers suspect, the remains might have belonged to the second oldest known grape wine in the world, edged out only by a residue-covered Iranian wine jug dating to the sixth millennium B.C.
Since the Greeks influenced the Romans, who in turn influenced virtually all of Europe, it is possible that a drink made in a humble, post-framed house in eastern Macedonia influenced much of the world’s wine.
"For the Neolithic or the Bronze Age, we have no evidence for markets and a market economy," lead author Tania Valamoti told Discovery News.
"Production was on a household or communal basis," added Valamoti, who is a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at Greece’s Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Valamoti and her team excavated four homes at a Neolithic site called Dikili Tash. After discovering the grape remains in one residence, they conducted charring experiments on fresh grapes, raisins and wine pressings to see what would best match the ancient seeds and skins. They determined the archaeological remains "morphologically resemble wine pressings and could not have originated from charred grapes or raisins."
Analysis of the grape remains determined they either were harvested from wild plants or originated from a very early cultivar.
Findings are published in the current journal Antiquities.
The scientists also found two-handled clay cups and jars, which they say suggest a use for decanting and consuming liquids. Charred figs were also found near the grape remnants. The presence of figs likely was not a coincidence, according to the researchers, who mentioned that juice from wild grapes often has a bitter taste. "Figs could have been added to the grape juice prior to fermentation and the sugars contained in them would have entered the juice," explained Valamoti. "Or, they could have been added to the fermented product after completion of the fermentation process. Honey could be dealt with in the same way."
The world’s oldest wine, a 9,000-year old rice wine from China, also contained honey and fruits.
The ancient Greek grapes might change wine history, as experts previously theorized grape wine-making could have first spread throughout the Middle East.
Patrick McGovern, a senior research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and one of the world’s leading ancient wine experts, has pointed out that "the wild grape never grew in ancient Egypt," yet evidence for wine there dates back to at least 2,700 B.C. Red wine residue was even found in King Tut’s tomb.
He and his colleagues believe wine-making became established in Egypt due to "early Bronze Age trade between Egypt and Palestine, encompassing modern Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and Jordan."
But since the Phoenicians and the Greeks largely controlled Egyptian trade during much of the Pharaonic period, because many such individuals had settled into the Delta, it is now possible that Greeks brought wine into Egypt and into numerous other places, through Greece’s extensive trade routes.
Valamoti and her colleagues hope further studies can be conducted on the Dikili Tash pottery, to determine whether tartaric acid, a component of grapes and wine, was present in the cups.
GGG Ping.
"a residue-covered Iranian wine jug dating to the sixth millennium B.C."
5500 BC? Isn't that 7500 years ago?
But how long ago were Adam and Eve?
Amazing that that jug survived the Flood.
Whoa, Noah was an Iranian?
Who knew?
Do not accept that statement.
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How much did it take to make a cavewoman a "10".
Hard to believe the intelligent Greeks went from wine made from grapes to wine made from pine sap (Retsina).
There must have been a dumbing down due to climate change (global freezing)for that to happen.
"The Dark Ages lasted from 1100 BC until 800 BC, or relatively to the time of Hellenic or Classical Greece. During this time the culture of Greece dwindled. Little is known of how many cultural elements were lost during the Dark Ages, but characteristic of the Dark Age, is the gradual decimation of any urbanized culture on the Greek mainland."
There was a worldwide tree-ring event at 1159BC. Maybe a serious volcano or an asteroid impact?
Take that back.
Retsina is no worse than the abomination known as mead, or berry-fermented/flavored wines.
On the other hand, resin flavor is an acquired taste. You need to start drinking it at 13, while eating octopus, sardines on the grill, cheeses, and fresh, bitter arugula. By the time you are 18, you just love it.
Sort of tastes like gasoline, only less complex.
On the contrary, Scotch is an acquired taste. Only real men would flavor a favorite beverage with peat.
Retsina on the other hand is for people who'll eat the bark off of trees because their pitiful landscape is so bereft of goodness.
Do you mean ARGULA?
Please ping me. (I love wine!)
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