6,000-year-old wine storage jars found in a Sicilian cave. (Dr. Davide Tanasi, University of South Florida)
Posted on 06/21/2018 12:08:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Monte Kronio rises 1,300 feet above the geothermally active landscape of southwestern Sicily. Hidden in its bowels is a labyrinthine system of caves, filled with hot sulfuric vapors. At lower levels, these caves average 99 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 percent humidity. Human sweat cannot evaporate and heat stroke can result in less than 20 minutes of exposure to these underground conditions. Nonetheless, people have been visiting the caves of Monte Kronio since as far back as 8,000 years ago. They’ve left behind vessels from the Copper Age (early sixth to early third millennium B.C.) as well as various sizes of ceramic storage jars, jugs and basins. In the deepest cavities of the mountain these artifacts sometimes lie with human skeletons... At the end of 2017, research similar to ours using Neolithic ceramic samples from Georgia pushed back the discovery of trace of pure grape wine even further, to 6,000-5,800 B.C... From an economic standpoint, the evidence of wine implies that people at [Monte Kronio] were cultivating grapevines. Viticulture requires specific terrains, climates and irrigation systems. Archaeologists hadn’t, up to this point, included all these agricultural strategies in their theories about settlement patterns in these Copper Age Sicilian communities... Sicily completely lacks metal ores. But the discovery of little copper artifacts -- things like daggers, chisels and pins had been found at several sites -- shows that Sicilians somehow developed metallurgy by the Copper Age... The lure of wine, though, might have been what brought the Aegeans to Sicily... the discovery of wine remnants near gaseous crevices deep inside Monte Kronio adds more support to the hypothesis that the mountain was a sort of prehistoric sanctuary where purification or oracular practices were carried out...
(Excerpt) Read more at theconversation.com ...
6,000-year-old wine storage jars found in a Sicilian cave. (Dr. Davide Tanasi, University of South Florida)
Remains of 8,000-year-old olive oil found in Lower Galilee
Jerusalem Post | December 17, 2014 | Daniel K. Eisenbud
Posted on 12/19/2014 1:59:07 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3239059/posts
Basically a wellness resort, from 6,000 years ago.
Or maybe they should be looking for 8000 year old cheese. :^)
Ancient mummies found buried with world’s oldest cheese
L. A. Times | 2-28-2014 | Jean Harris
Posted on 03/01/2014 3:15:21 AM PST by Renfield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3128272/posts
my ancestors living “la dolce vida” way back when. LOL
Very Interesting!
Thanks for posting SunkenCiv!
Sicily does have winters. In January, when nighttime temperatures can get to the 30’s, a nice warm cave may seem inviting.
The farther south, the sweeter the grape.
is that an ‘AA One Year Sober Chip’ I see next to the Jar?
Copper and wine. Anything beyond that is too advanced for the progressives, who say it’s killing the planet. Well, marijuana can stay too.
Love this stuff, SunkenCiv.
Good to have you back :)
“Prehistoric wine discovered in inaccessible caves forces a rethink of ancient Sicilian culture”
This find may date back to the “Stoned Age”.
Stuff is way beyond its peak, would need to be stored at 60 degrees F or so or it goes very bad!
Too hot down there, yep!
“Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC in Iran, and was recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and spread throughout the world.
As almost any cereal containing certain sugars can undergo spontaneous fermentation due to wild yeasts in the air, it is possible that beer-like beverages were independently developed throughout the world soon after a tribe or culture had domesticated cereal.
Chemical tests of ancient pottery jars reveal that beer was produced as far back as about 7,000 years ago in what is today Iran.[2] This discovery reveals one of the earliest known uses of fermentation and is the earliest evidence of brewing to date.[3]
In Mesopotamia, the oldest evidence of beer is believed to be a 6,000-year-old Sumerian tablet depicting people drinking a beverage through reed straws from a communal bowl.
A 3900-year-old Sumerian poem honouring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, contains the oldest surviving beer recipe, describing the production of beer from barley via bread.
In China, residue on pottery dating from between 5400 and 4900 years ago shows beer was brewed using barley and other grains.[4]”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer
Prices were marked on various vessels from 25 “clams” to “I’ll Make you an offer you can’t refuse” (kudos to the flintstones for the “clams)
Did this wine contain sulfites?
>> it is possible that beer-like beverages were independently developed throughout the world soon after a tribe or culture had domesticated cereal.
Yes, the technology has been (forgotten and) rediscovered numerous times.
Supposedly fermentation is an early “technology” that is learned.
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Another excellent article. Thank you.
I’ve always assumed wine was very old.
[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+9%3A20&version=NKJV Genesis 9:20 “And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.” Whether you read the Bible as God’s word or not, it’s reasonable to assume that they got their history mostly right.]
It’s nice to see confirmation, especially with these details.
I am trying to remember what the BC comic strip used for money.
remember: CLAMS GOT LEGS!!?
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