Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey. So how did alcohol come to fuel global trade and exploration?

没有人知道人类究竟是什么时候开始制造发酵饮料的。已知最早的证据来自公元前7000年的中国，陶罐中的残留物显示，人们用发酵的大米、小米、葡萄和蜂蜜来制作酒精饮料。那么，酒精是如何来推动全球贸易和探索的呢？