导读:一项最新研究发现，中国人也许从五千年前就开始喝啤酒了。
US and Chinese researchers say they found traces of barley, millet, grain, and tubers used in fermentation.
美国和中国的研究人员表示，他们发现了一些线索，可以证明大麦、小米、谷物和块茎曾被发酵。
It was found on pottery discovered in Shaanxi province in northern China during an archaeological dig 10 years ago.
十年前，陕西的一场考古发掘曾发现了一些陶器。而此次的这些发现正是从这些陶器中得出的。
It would be the earliest known instance of beer-making in China and suggest a sophisticated approach.
这将是中国已知最早的啤酒酿造实例，并且酿造的工艺还十分先进。
Published in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study also suggested that barley may have been used for booze before being used for food.
这份研究结果出版在《美国科学院院报》，它表明大麦也许先是被作为酿酒作物，随后才被当做食物的。
The pottery fragments were originally found in an archaeological dig in 2004-2006, but only had their residue analysed by Stanford University researchers in late 2015, confirming earlier speculation by Chinese scholars that they might have been used for brewing.
在2004年至2006年间的一场考古发掘中，研究人员发现了这批陶器碎片，但是直到2015年底斯坦福大学的研究人员才对陶器上的残渣 进行的分析。他们的分析证实了中国学者们早先的猜测，认为这些器具是用来酿酒的。
The find included pots and pottery funnels, covered with a residue of broomcorn millet, barley, a chewy grain known as Job’s tears, and tubers.
研究人员发现在陶罐和陶质漏斗表面覆盖有一层残渣，残渣的成分包括黍、大麦、薏米和块茎。
It also included stoves that could have been used to heat and mash grains, as well as underground spaces that would have kept the brew at a cool, consistent fermentation temperature - and helped stop it going off quickly once it was made.
研究人员还发现了一个火炉，可以被用来加热、煮熟谷物。他们还发现了一个地下空间，可以用来存放啤酒，使其保持一个凉爽、恒定的发酵温度；在啤酒酿造完成后，这个空间还能够延长其保质的时间。
"The discovery of barley is a surprise," lead author Jiajing Wang of Stanford University told the BBC in an email, as it was previously thought the grain arrived in China 1,000 years later.
斯坦福大学项目负责人、作家王家井（音）在一封邮件中告诉BBC，说：“大麦的发现很令人惊讶。”因为此前学界一直认为大麦传入中国的时间还要再晚1000年。
"This beer recipe indicates a mix of Chinese and Western traditions - barley from the West; millet, Job’s tears and tubers from China."
“这份啤酒配方是一个中西传统相结合的结果--大麦来自于西方；而小米、薏米和块茎则来自于中国。
The latest find would suggest that drinkers in China first began to develop a taste for beer around the same time as people in ancient Egypt and Iran - from where the barley may have come.
这份最新研究表明，中国的饮酒者们第一次品尝到啤酒的年代和古埃及、伊朗的人是差不多的（大麦从伊朗传入中国）。
The exact taste of the ancient brew will remain a mystery however, as while the scientists say they know what ingredients were used, they don’t know the quantities.
但是，五千年前啤酒的滋味也许将永远是一个谜，尽管科学家们表示他们知道使用了那些原料，但是他们并不知道每种原料的具体用量。
