From Tanning to Tannins

Abstract

![Figure][1] A team member stands next to the ancient wine press. CREDIT: HANS BARNARD ![Figure][1] A clay fermentation vat. CREDIT: GREGORY ARESHIAN In the same cave complex in southern Armenia where researchers uncovered the world's oldest leather shoe last year ( Science , 18 June 2010, p. [1461][2]), archaeologists have found evidence for the world's oldest winery. University of California, Los Angeles, archaeologists Hans Barnard and Gregory Areshian, who was part of the leather shoe team, found the ancient vintner's supplies during a 2007 National Geographic Society expedition. The stash included grape seeds from Vitis vinifera (the species still used in winemaking today), desiccated grape vines, a wine press, a clay fermentation vat, and earthen drinkware. Chemical analysis of a gray rime clinging to potsherds revealed the plant pigment malvidin, which in the region is only found in grapes and pomegranates. As the site contained no pomegranate remains, the pigment pointed to grape juice. And because fresh grape juice didn't last very long before the advent of mechanical refrigeration some 5700 years later, the cave dwellers likely fermented it into wine, the researchers reported online last week in the Journal of Archaeological Science . The site dates to approximately 4100 B.C.E., making it the oldest known winemaking facility, although traces of wine itself have been found in sites 4000 years older. Little is known about who used this cave system, but its numerous gravesites indicate that the caves may have played a ceremonial funerary role. The proximity to graves fits with many traditions of imbibing wine during burial rituals, says Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology who has studied ancient Egyptian beer and wine. The finding shows how advanced winemaking was in these early stages of human civilization, he says. “I just hope they took their leather shoes off before they trod on the grapes.” [1]: pending:yes [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/328/5985/r-samples.full#compilation-3-1-article-title-1