Research Report: Fermentation as Food Preservation Method in East Asia

This report delves into the historical development of fermentation as a food preservation technique, focusing on its evolution in East Asia. It begins by tracing the earliest archaeological evidence of fermentation, highlighting its significance in preserving food before the advent of modern methods. The report then examines why fermentation was adopted, exploring its role in delayed-return subsistence strategies and the accidental fermentation of dairy products. It further explores the development of fermentation in East Asia, emphasizing the unique characteristics of East Asian fermented foods, the influence of mold, and the transition from home-based production to industrial processes. The report also discusses archaeological evidence supporting fermentation practices in the region, including findings from the Tianluoshan site and the use of fermented fish in Japan and Southeast Asia. Finally, the challenges in identifying fermentation in the archaeological record are addressed, with examples of chemical analyses used to detect fermented alcoholic drinks and other fermented foods, offering a comprehensive overview of the history and significance of fermentation in East Asia.

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The development of fermentation as a method of food preservation in East Asia
Introduction
Fermentation was unearthed in Blekinge, which lies in southern Sweden on the Baltic
Sea, at a prehistoric settlement dating back to the early Mesolithic period. This is the earliest
archaeological evidence of fermentation being used to preserve food anywhere in the world. We
didn't even need salt or canning jars to keep the food fresh. Instead, they were buried in a hole
after being acidified with pine wood, wrapped in seal fat, and then in seal or wild boar skins.
When the fermentation process was complete, for example the fish were buried and kept cold
until they were ready to eat (Levin, Maureece. 2018). Fragile fish bones typically disintegrate
without leaving a trace, so it's unclear how prevalent this method actually was; at Blekinge, the
soil conditions preserved the bones, but archaeologists still had to use a small mesh sieve to
extract them this also formed a basis of archaeological evidence (Levin, Maureece., 2018). A
contributing factor is the fragility and ephemeral nature of fish bones, which makes them more
susceptible to loss than, say, the bones of terrestrial animals. In this instance, conditions were
ideal, which contributed to the preservation of the bones. Fish bones, estimated to roughly 9,200

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years old, were unearthed at a rate of 30,000 per square metre by the archaeologists, who also
found bits of pine bark. A rectangular pit with stake holes along its perimeter was discovered
beneath the layer of bones. Scientists have estimated that at least 60,000 tons of freshwater fish
were processed there (Levin, Maureece., 2018). However, in recent years there has been a rise in
interest in fermented food products, primarily as a result of the possible health benefits that they
may offer. This paper will be discussing on the development of fermentation as a method of food
preservation by narrowing the discovery to two area that is East Asia.
Why people fermented food and drinks
Evidence of extensive food storage at an Early Mesolithic site in eastern Sweden suggests
the presence of a delayed-return subsistence strategy. Fish may have been fermented at the site
based on archaeological evidence, anthropological correlations, and our current understanding of
microbial activity from 9200 years ago. Thousands of years before farming and urbanised
communities and without the use of salt, the discovery of a foraging economy fermenting
substantial amounts of fish, and conserving it for later use, has implications for how we view the
Early Mesolithic, suggesting semi-sedentism, technological skill, and the ability to adapt rapidly
to changing environmental conditions (Tamang, et al., 2020:210). Preliminary evidence of a
delayed-return practice in Early Mesolithic foraging contexts suggests the existence of a more
complex society than previously realized and calls into question the current models used to
estimate demographic parameters such as population density and birth rate for that time period.
Long before alcoholic beverages were invented, humans were fermenting dairy, a food group
infamous for spoiling quickly. Even as long back as 10,000 BCE, people were naturally
fermenting the milk of various animals, including camels, goats, sheep, and cattle (Levin, &
Maureece., 2018) Since there is already bacteria in the milk, fermentation probably happened by

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accident rather than design. As a thermophilic lactic acid fermentation, it is likely that the warm
subtropical climate where this dairy fermentation occurred played a significant influence in its
development (Vaneker. 2010). It has been hypothesized that the first yoghurts were prepared in
North Africa, where the warm climate (daytime highs of 110 °F) and plenty of goats provided
the right circumstances for fermentation.
However, it wasn't until the middle of the 1800s that scientists figured out why certain
foods fermented (Vaneker. 2010). The health benefits of fermented meals weren't recognized
until 1910. Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian bacteriologist, observed that the average life expectancy
of Bulgarians was unusually high for the early 1900s, at 87 years (Tamang, et al., 2020:215).
Metchnikoff found that the Bulgarians drank more fermented milks than those from other
civilizations, which may have been a factor in their longer lifetime. Bulgarian bacillus was the
name he gave to a type of bacteria that was discovered in these milks during fermentation; he
popularized their use by claiming that they had numerous health benefits and extended people's
lives.
Development of Fermentation in East Asia
Many East Asian eating systems feature fermented foods, which is unique. Many of the
most important fermented foods involve mould; dairy products and other animal proteins are less
common; and modern fermentation technology is based on historic procedures but is very
advanced and sophisticated (Mcgovern et al., 2004:17594). When it comes to the fermentation of
KOJI, mold has been used in the same manner that malt enzymes are used in the East to generate
alcohol. Early in human history, people began eating fermented foods. In most societies, they
emerged as a means of preserving food, as well as of adorning and preparing pleasant common

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dishes. Grape wines and lactic acid fermented vegetables, backslopping for cheese, and starting
inoculation for beer and rice alcohol are all examples of products made through spontaneous
fermentation. As production moved from the home or village to factories, it became necessary to
pasteurize the ingredients and inoculate the starter cultures. The stability of product quality and
security was greatly aided by this revolution (Taming et al., 2020). The globalization of tastes,
the industrialization of agriculture, and the development of transportation, all of which were
encouraged by the rise of multinational corporations, have contributed to environmental
degradation, the loss of cultural diversity in food production, and distrust between manufacturers
and consumers. Moreover, as production scales up, so do incidents of food poisoning and other
hazards.
Despite advances in agriculture, fermented items in South and Southeast Asia are
typically still made at the family or village level using traditional methods. However, trust in
security and quality is also inadequate, making it essential to enhance production methods.
Because of concerns about the safety of locally produced meat, customers are also skeptical
about the microbiological safety of Nem-chua (fermented sausage). Home-fermented veggies
sometimes have excessive salt or vinegar concentrations because of the same lack of trust in
vegetables from the local market. Recently, fish sauce (Nuoc-mam) has come under scrutiny for
its high histamine content, despite the fact that it has been studied for quite some time and is
occasionally manufactured on an industrial basis (Lee, Cherl-Ho, and Moonsil, 2016: 15).
Eastern Asia's traditional fermented food industries appear to have been largely driven by
trial and error from the early 1800s until the 1870s without any general scientific research into
microorganisms or fermentation processes, or any general theories in these areas. Tokugawa

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shoguns ruled Japan from 1635 to 1854, a period of relative isolation and seclusion (Craig,
Oliver, 2021:240). During this 220-year span, many of the most significant advances in Western
science went largely unnoticed. Meiji, which spanned from 1868 to 1912, was characterized by
an openness to modernity and a commitment to positivism and modern science as the
overarching ethos (Liu et al., 2020:191). Scientific and technological advancements and empire-
building in the West during this period gave Westerners confidence in their ability to control the
world and an optimistic belief in a bright new future. There were strong efforts to cultivate
Western knowledge, science, and technology in Japan in the belief that their rapid assimilation
would ensure the country's survival. Western science and technology were the primary subjects
of instruction at the nation's public universities by the 1870s.
Archeological evidence
Fermented alcoholic beverages are notoriously challenging to detect in the archaeological
record due to the volatile nature of ethanol, the primary alcohol component. Since fermentation
is, at its core, the same process as decay, it is similarly challenging to preserve other types of
fermented foods (Fuller and Rowlands 201:56). However, in certain unusual cases like those
presented below, the surrounding circumstances can be suggestive of fermentation. Some
indirect evidence from prehistoric and protohistoric sites in East Asia is provided below.
There is evidence of human habitation at the Tianluoshan site in Zhejiang Province,
China, that goes back to between 7.0 and 5.8 thousand years cal. BP, in the lower Yangtze River
valley. This area is well-known for its rice farming and its utilisation of different wild plant
resources, including acorns, water chestnuts, and fox nuts. Culter alburnus basilewskyi, Cyprinus
carpio linnaei, and Carassius auratus subsp. carpio were some of the freshwater fish species

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found in a pit (pit K) that measured 80 by 60 by 40 centimetres (cm). The latter was notably
prevalent, with a minimum of 1,400 Carassius auratus being collected from 192 litres of soils
and having completely recognisable bones from all area of their bodies (Moonsil Lee Kim, 2016:
17). Given the lack of heat signatures, it appears they were deposited in the pit unprocessed and
in their entirety. The length of these fish indicates that they were caught in May or June of their
third year, which is when they would have been sexually mature. In modern Japan, you can find
a dish called funazushi, which originates on Lake Biwa in the prefecture of Shiga (Taming et al.,
2020). From figure 1, arassius buergeri grandoculis and Carassius cuvieri, two species of
freshwater carp, are among the fish commonly used to make funazushi, a popular rice-pickled
fermented freshwater fish dish. It is the springtime, when the fish are carrying eggs, that they are
caught. Some fermented freshwater fish are mentioned in kanji on Japanese wooden tablets from
the seventh century AD (Craig, Oliver. 2021)
Fish that has been fermented is a staple food in contemporary Southeast Asia. Tonlé Sap
Lake in Cambodia, for example, is well-known for its massive production of prahoc, a fermented
fish paste derived from freshwater fish like Cyprinidae. Another appropriate analogue for the
interpretation of archaeological artefacts mentioned below in terms of fish fermentation is the
traditional process of fermenting prahoc, which traditionally takes four months inside ceramic
containers before being stored for one or two years. Therefore, given these anthropological
parallels, the ubiquity of these specific fish at the Tianluoshan site, and the absence of evidence
for other culinary activities within the pit, it is possible that this feature indicates a fish
fermenting process (Taming et al., 2020).

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Possible prehistoric relics of Meju, a dried fermented soybean lump. Meju is a fermented
soybean product that is made by pressing, kneading, and moulding cooked soybeans into a brick-
shaped mass. It is used to make traditional condiments like doenjiang and ganjang in Korea and
miso in Japan, which give the cuisines of these two nations their signature flavours (Tamang, wt
al., 2020). Degradation or fermentation of the wild fruits is shown (Fuller, Dorian, and Lara,
2018:109). Ethnobotanists have documented the usage of these species in religious rites in
northern Japan and Sakhalin. That being said, it is speculated that the vast majority of wild fruit
seeds are the scraps left over after the fruit juice has been drained and fermented.
Challenges in identifying fermentation in the archaeological record
One of the most contentious areas of bimolecular archaeology is the chemical
identification of fermented alcoholic drinks, and very few assertions are accepted without dispute
in this field. Chemical analyses of massive limestone basins from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
stages at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia and from the Natufian period in Israel's Raqefet
Cave indicate that beer was likely made there, predating the invention of pottery (Mcgovern et
al., 2004:17594). Chemical research of big ceramic jars at Godin Tepe (ca. 5500 BP) in the
Zagros Mountains of western Iran has also led to claims of beer production there.
As shown above, there is no theoretical or contextual reason to doubt these assertions,
although chemical analysis is missing. These assertions are always based on the results of a
chemical spot test for calcium oxalate, a significant component of "beerstone," which seems
completely unsuitable given that the test is not specific to the target analyte and that oxalates
may present in numerous substances apart from beerstone. The beer identification assertion in
Northern China is more plausible. Although not unique to beerstone, ion chromatography allows

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for more confident identification of oxalate here, and macrobotanical remnants of grains lend
credence to the argument that the ceramic objects were made for the manipulation of particular
liquids. Some have tried to draw parallels between the chemical compositions of ancient and
contemporary beers by comparing the compounds found in ancient and contemporary vessels,
but these methods often overlook the wide variety of possible origins for these compounds and
the impact of molecular diagenesis (Mcgovern et al., 2004:17594). Newly developed biomarkers
for cereals, such as alkylresorcinols for wheat and barley or millicin for broomcorn millet, have
not been extensively studied in relation to beer production.
Fermenting wild or cultivated fruits that are in season is another apparent way to preserve
overabundances that might otherwise spoil. Fruit sugars can be quickly fermented by aerobic
yeasts (Saccharomyces spp.), which naturally occur on fruiting plants. There is a strong
correlation between pottery and the ability to harvest grapes and manage the fermenting process
for wine. Analysis of residues on Georgian Early Neolithic potsherds provides the oldest possible
dates for wine manufacture (about 8000-7800 BP). Tartaric acid, which is present in grape juice
at a high concentration (1-5 g/L), is the primary method used for identifying wine, while many
additional methods have been developed, most of which lack specificity (Fuller and Rowlands
201:50). Tartaric acid I is abundant in many other fruits, (ii) is present in many other organic
substances, including soils and sediments, and (iii) is not indicative of fermentation.
Conclusion
Foods could be preserved without refrigeration by fermenting. It is possible farm wives in
1900 weren't creating kimchi, but they were still giving their families fermented goods like
cheese, bread and vinegar. Without going into too much detail about microorganisms, the basic

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concepts of food preservation through fermentation rely on the transformative actions and
manipulation of surroundings of some preferred microbes and the absence or activity of less
desirable microbes (Fuller and Rowlands 201:57). Evidence of a delayed-return practise in Early
Mesolithic foraging contexts reveals a more complex society than previously thought and
questions current models used to estimate demographic parameters such as population density
and birth rate for that time period. Anaerobic indicates that there is no oxygen present during the
fermentation process. When sugar, starch, and carbs are digested and released as ethanol, carbon
dioxide, and organic acids, the beneficial bacteria flourish in an oxygen-free environment. A lack
of oxygen makes it impossible for germs that cause spoiling, rotting, and degradation of food to
thrive.

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Appendices
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