He has identified the world’s oldest known barley beer (from Iran’s Zagros Mountains, dating to 3400 B.C.), the oldest grape wine (also from the Zagros, circa 5400 B.C.) and the earliest known ...

The previous record belonged to a drink discovered in China dating back 9,000 years; it resembled a mix between beer and grape-based wine. Beer and wine were both relatively straightforward to ...