Work

Mass spectrometry identification of the liquor contained in the plum vase excavated from Jurou Li’s Grave of the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234 CE) in Xi’an, Shannxi, China

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: In order to accurately identify the ancient liquid contained in the plum vase excavated from Jurou Li’s Grave of the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234 CE) in Xi’an, mass spectrometry was applied to determine the amino acid sequences of the residual proteins extracted from the liquid sample. The sequences were searched against a standard protein sequence database. The proteins extracted was identified as glycosyltransferase from Sorghum bicolor, calcium-dependent protein kinase 2 from Wickerhamomyces ciferrii, and cytochrome b-c1 complex subunit Rieske from Nadsonia fulvescens. These findings indicate that the extremely degraded liquid in the plum vase was made from the cereal of sorghum by alcoholic fermentation of Wickerhamomyces ciferrii and Nadsonia fulvescens, providing direct evidence for liquor in the Jin Dynasty.

Source: Heritage Science

DOI: 10.1186/s40494-018-0210-5

Authors: Zhanyun Zhu, Chunlei Yu, Yifei Miao, Zhiyong Lu, Junchang Yang

Institutions: Northwestern Polytechnical University, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,090

Funders: Northwestern University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation