Alcoholic beverage was the earliest liquid refreshment created by humankind. In the thousands of years that have since elapsed, the countless ceremonial and everyday use sets of cups, goblets, and decanters that were produced specifically to contain and convey wine and liquor have now become important historical artifacts.

Neolithic Drinking Implements

In 1979, at the Dawenkou tombs in Juxian County, Shandong Province, Chinese archaeologists unearthed pottery vessels that date back 4,000 years. They included a large pottery zun used for fermentation, straining jars for filtering, pottery vats for storage, and over 100 drinking vessels of various types. The archaeologists concluded that the occupant of the tomb was a professional wine maker.

These are not, however, the earliest drinking vessels ever found. Among excavated pottery vessels dating back 5,000 to 6,000 years are wine vats, albeit empty. It is not known whether or not the drink they originally contained evaporated or seeped out. To this day, the origins of recreational alcohol are uncertain.

Bronze from the Shang Dynasty

There are various theories as to the origins of wine making. One is that it began with apes, when the fruit they stored in their cave dwellings fermented naturally and produced wine. Humankind was thereafter inspired to formulate more refined methods. Another theory concerns a man name Yi Di, who is believed to have lived during the reign of Yu the Great, in the late 23rd century B.C. He is said to have invented wine at the behest of Yu's daughter, in order that she might present it to her father as a gift.

Drink, and its volatile effects, perplexed the ancients. It was sometimes used as a sacrament in the worship of ancestors and deities, but was also associated with disaster, and therefore prohibited.