Traces of alcohol in pottery vessels discovered from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould.
Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead.
Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the Gansu…