Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus

Patrick McGovern; Mindia Jalabadze; Stephen Batiuk; Michael P. Callahan; Karen E. Smith; Gretchen R. Hall; Eliso Kvavadze; David Maghradze; Nana Rusishvili; Laurent Bouby; Osvaldo Failla; Gabriele Cola; Luigi Mariani; Elisabetta Boaretto; Roberto Bacilieri; Patrice This; Nathan Wales; David Lordkipanidze

doi:10.1073/pnas.1714728114

Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus

Patrick McGovern^*, Mindia Jalabadze, Stephen Batiuk, Michael P. Callahan, Karen E. Smith, Gretchen R. Hall, Eliso Kvavadze, David Maghradze, Nana Rusishvili, Laurent Bouby, Osvaldo Failla, Gabriele Cola, Luigi Mariani, Elisabetta Boaretto, Roberto Bacilieri, Patrice This, Nathan Wales, David Lordkipanidze

^*Corresponding author for this work

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000–5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000–5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called “Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture” of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	E10309-E10318
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	114
Issue number	48
Early online date	13 Nov 2017
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714728114
Publication status	Published - 28 Nov 2017

Keywords

Georgia
Near East
Neolithic
Viticulture
Wine

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10.1073/pnas.1714728114

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McGovern, P., Jalabadze, M., Batiuk, S., Callahan, M. P., Smith, K. E., Hall, G. R., Kvavadze, E., Maghradze, D., Rusishvili, N., Bouby, L., Failla, O., Cola, G., Mariani, L., Boaretto, E., Bacilieri, R., This, P., Wales, N., & Lordkipanidze, D. (2017). Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(48), E10309-E10318. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714728114

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title = "Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus",

abstract = "Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000–5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000–5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called “Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture” of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world.",

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author = "Patrick McGovern and Mindia Jalabadze and Stephen Batiuk and Callahan, {Michael P.} and Smith, {Karen E.} and Hall, {Gretchen R.} and Eliso Kvavadze and David Maghradze and Nana Rusishvili and Laurent Bouby and Osvaldo Failla and Gabriele Cola and Luigi Mariani and Elisabetta Boaretto and Roberto Bacilieri and Patrice This and Nathan Wales and David Lordkipanidze",

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doi = "10.1073/pnas.1714728114",

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McGovern, P, Jalabadze, M, Batiuk, S, Callahan, MP, Smith, KE, Hall, GR, Kvavadze, E, Maghradze, D, Rusishvili, N, Bouby, L, Failla, O, Cola, G, Mariani, L, Boaretto, E, Bacilieri, R, This, P, Wales, N & Lordkipanidze, D 2017, 'Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114, no. 48, pp. E10309-E10318. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714728114

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AU - McGovern, Patrick

AU - Jalabadze, Mindia

AU - Batiuk, Stephen

AU - Callahan, Michael P.

AU - Smith, Karen E.

AU - Hall, Gretchen R.

AU - Kvavadze, Eliso

AU - Maghradze, David

AU - Rusishvili, Nana

AU - Bouby, Laurent

AU - Failla, Osvaldo

AU - Cola, Gabriele

AU - Mariani, Luigi

AU - Boaretto, Elisabetta

AU - Bacilieri, Roberto

AU - This, Patrice

AU - Wales, Nathan

AU - Lordkipanidze, David

PY - 2017/11/28

Y1 - 2017/11/28

N2 - Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000–5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000–5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called “Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture” of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world.

AB - Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000–5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000–5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called “Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture” of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world.

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Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus

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Keywords

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