One of six jars containing resin wine which were found in the "kitchen" of a Neolithic dwelling at Hajji Firuz Tepe (Iran). Stains of reddish rests covered the inner walls of this container (height: 23,50 cm.).

THE ORIGINS - PART 2: NEOLITHIC PERIOD

But it was only starting from the Neolithic period (8000-4500 BC) that for the first time in the history of mankind the perfect conditions for the production of wine were created. The first element to be taken into account is the fact that right at that time the human communities of Middle East and Egypt changed their status from nomadic into sedentary. As a consequence, settlements were facilitated both from plant cultivation and animal breeding. With the certainty of food provision -unknown to nomadic groups- and a stable operational base, the first concept of a Neolithic "kitchen" appears in the history of mankind. With the help of a series of techniques and procedures (fermentation, soaking, cooking, seasoning, etc.) Neolithic peoples were the first ones to produce bread, beer and a range of dishes with meats and cereals, that still today we find on our tables.

The art of preparing dishes, together with the conservation and presentation of food, developed at the same rate with the new kitchen. The appearance of earthenware around 6000 BC was of particular importance. The plastic nature of clay made it the ideal material for creating vats and jars for the production and preservation of wine. After cooking clay at high temperatures, the material that comes out is essentially indestructible and its porous nature favours the absorption of organic substances. As a matter of fact, the first wines were sqeezed together with wild berries, raspberries and danewort in holes dug into the soil and lined with clay to make them impermeable.

Very important for the understanding of the techniques used for the production of wine during the Neolithic period, was the analysis of the rests present inside a jar which was found in 1968 by the archaeologist Mary M. Voigt, during the excavations at Hajji Firuz Tepe, on the Zagros mountains in Iran. The jar (with a capacity of 9 liters) was found with other five specimens, they were all filled in the floor along the perimetric walls of the "kitchen", inside a Neolithic dwelling built in clay bricks and dating back at about 5400-5000 BC. The large house could host a big family, and the proof that that area was used as a kitchen was the discovery of many pieces of earthenware -probably used for praparing and cooking food- and of a hearth.

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