Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T21:16:49.076Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Harvesting and processing wild cereals in the Upper Palaeolithic Yellow River Valley, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2018

Li Liu ,
Maureece J. Levin ,
Michael F. Bonomo ,
Jiajing Wang ,
Jinming Shi ,
Xingcan Chen ,
Jiayi Han  and
Yanhua Song
Li Liu*
Affiliation:
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, Knight Building, 521 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305, USA Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University, Building 500, 488 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA Henan University, 85 Minglun Street, Shunhe Huizuqu, Kaifeng 475001, China
Maureece J. Levin
Affiliation:
Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University, Building 500, 488 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Michael F. Bonomo
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Building 320, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Jiajing Wang
Affiliation:
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, Knight Building, 521 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305, USA Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University, Building 500, 488 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Jinming Shi
Affiliation:
Shanxi Museum, 13 Binhe W Road, Wanbailin Qu, Taiyuan 030024, China
Xingcan Chen
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 27 Wangfujing Dajie, Beijing 100710, China
Jiayi Han
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Yanhua Song*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
*
*Authors for correspondence (Email: [email protected]; [email protected])
*Authors for correspondence (Email: [email protected]; [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Northern China has been identified as an independent centre of domestication for various types of millet and other plant species, but tracing the earliest evidence for the exploitation of wild cereals and thus the actual domestication process has proven challenging. Evidence from microscopic analyses of stone tools, including use-wear, starch and phytolith analyses, however, show that in the Shizitan region of north China, various plants have been exploited as far back as 28000 years ago, and wild millets have been harvested and processed by the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, 24000 years ago. This is some 18000–14000 years before the earliest evidence for domesticated millet in this region.

Keywords

ChinaPalaeolithicLast Glacial Maximumplant collectingJob's tearshaematite milletuse-wearstarch grainsphytoliths
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 92 , Issue 363 , June 2018 , pp. 603 - 619
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, P.C. 1999. Experimental cultivation, harvest, and threshing of wild cereals, in Anderson, P.C. (ed.) Prehistory of agriculture: new experimental and ethnographic approaches: 118–44. Los Angeles (CA): Institute of Archaeology, UCLA.Google Scholar
Bestel, S., Crawford, G.W., Liu, L., Shi, J., Song, Y. & Chen, X.. 2014. The evolution of millet domestication, Middle Yellow River Region, north China: evidence from charred seeds at the Late Upper Paleolithic Shizitan locality 9 site. The Holocene 24: 261–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683613518595Google Scholar
Eiselt, B., Popelka-Filcoff, R., Darling, J. & Glascock, M.. 2011. Hematite sources and archaeological ochres from Hohokam and O'odham sites in central Arizona: an experiment in type identification and characterization. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3019–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.06.030Google Scholar
Fullagar, R. 1991. The role of silica in polish formation. Journal of Archaeological Science 18: 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(91)90076-2Google Scholar
Fullagar, R. 2006. Starch on artifacts, in Torrence, R. & Barton, H. (ed.) Ancient starch research: 177–204. Walnut Creek (CA): Left Coast.Google Scholar
Fullagar, R., Liu, L., Bestel, S., Jones, D., Ge, W., Wilson, A. & Zhai, S.. 2012. Stone tool-use experiments to determine the function of grinding stones and denticulate sickles. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 32: 29–44.Google Scholar
Guan, Y., Pearsall, D.M., Gao, X., Chen, F., Pei, S. & Zhou, Z.. 2014. Plant-use activities during the Upper Paleolithic in East Eurasia: evidence from the Shuidonggou site, northwest China. Quaternary International 347: 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.04.007Google Scholar
Hillman, G.C. & Davies, M.S.. 1999. Domestication rate in wild wheats and barley under primitive cultivation, in Anderson, P.C. (ed.) Prehistory of agriculture: 70–102. Los Angeles (CA): Institute of Archaeology, UCLA.Google Scholar
Ibáñez, J.J., Anderson, P.C., González-Urquijo, J. & Gibaja, J.. 2016. Cereal cultivation and domestication as shown by microtexture analysis of sickle gloss through confocal microscopy. Journal of Archaeological Science 73: 62–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.07.011Google Scholar
Jain, S.K. & Banerjee, D.K.. 1974. Preliminary observations on the ethnobotany of the genus Coix. Economic Botany 28: 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02861377Google Scholar
Jia, G., Shi, S., Wang, C., Niu, Z., Chai, Y., Zhi, H. & Diao, X.. 2013. Molecular diversity and population structure of Chinese green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.) revealed by microsatellite analysis. Journal of Experimental Botany 64: 3645–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ert198Google Scholar
Linfen Cultural Bureau of Shanxi Province. 1989. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan Zhongshiqi wenhua yizhi [The Shizitan Mesolithic culture site in Jixian, Shanxi]. Kaogu Xuebao 3: 305–23 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Liu, L. 2015. A long process towards agriculture in the Middle Yellow River Valley, China: evidence from macro- and micro-botanical remains. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology 35: 3–14. https://doi.org/10.7152/jipa.v35i0.14727Google Scholar
Liu, L. & Chen, X.. 2012. The archaeology of China: from the Late Palaeolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139015301Google Scholar
Liu, L., Field, J., Fullagar, R., Zhao, C., Chen, X. & Yu, J.. 2010. A functional analysis of grinding stones from Donghulin, north China. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 2630–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.05.023Google Scholar
Liu, L., Ge, W., Bestel, S., Jones, D., Shi, J., Song, Y. & Chen, X.. 2011. Plant exploitation of the last foragers at Shizitan in the Middle Yellow River Valley, China: evidence from grinding stones. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3524–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.015Google Scholar
Liu, L., Bestel, S., Shi, J., Song, Y. & Chen, X.. 2013. Paleolithic human exploitation of plant foods during the last glacial maximum in north China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 110: 5380–85. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1217864110 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.015Google Scholar
Liu, L., Wang, J. & Levin, M.J.. 2017. Usewear and residue analyses of experimental harvesting stone tools for archaeological research. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14: 439–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.06.018Google Scholar
Lu, T.L.-D. 1998. Some botanical characteristics of green foxtail (Setaria viridis) and harvesting experiments on the grass. Antiquity 72: 902–907. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00087548Google Scholar
Lu, T.L.-D. 1999. The transition from foraging to farming and the origin of agriculture in China (British Archaeological Report International series 774). Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.Google Scholar
Lu, T.L.-D. 2002. A green foxtail (Setaria viridis) cultivation experiment in the Middle Yellow River Valley and some related issues. Asian Perspectives 41: 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2002.0007Google Scholar
Pearsall, D.M. 1989. Paleoethnobotany: a handbook of procedures. San Diego (CA): Academic.Google Scholar
Purugganan, M.D. & Fuller, D.Q.. 2010. Archaeological data reveal slow rates of evolution during plant domestication. Evolution 65: 171–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01093.xGoogle Scholar
Shizitan Archaeology Team. 2010. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan yizhi dijiu didian fajue jianbao [Preliminary report of excavation at locality 9 at the Shizitan site in Jixian, Shanxi]. Kaogu 2010 (10): 7–17 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Shizitan Archaeology Team. 2013. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan jiushiqi shidai yizhi S14 didian 2002–2005 nian fajue jianbao [Preliminary report of the 2002–2005 excavations at locality 14 of the Paleolithic Shizitan site in Jixian, Shanxi]. Kaogu 2013 (2): 3–13 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Shizitan Archaeology Team. 2016. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan jiushiqi shidai yizhi di wu didian fajue jiangao [Excavation report of Paleolithic Shizitan locality 5 in Jixian, Shanxi]. Kaogu 2016 (4): 3–15 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Sivak, M.N.S. & Preiss, J.. 1998. Starch: basic science to biotechnology. San Diego (CA): Academic.Google Scholar
Song, Y. & Shi, J.. 2013. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan jiushiqi shidai yizhi chutu zhuangshipin yanjiu [Study of the ornaments unearthed from the Shizitan site of Palaeolithic age in Jixian County, Shanxi]. Kaogu 2013 (8): 46–57 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Song, Y. & Shi, J.. 2017. Shanxi Jixian Shizitan yizhi S29 didian fajue jianbao [Preliminary report of excavation at Shizitan locality 29 in Jixian, Shanxi]. Kaogu 2017 (2): 37–53 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Song, Y., Cohen, D.J., Shi, J., Wu, X., Kvavadze, E., Goldberg, P., Zhang, S., Zhang, Y. & Bar-Yosef, O.. 2017. Environmental reconstruction and dating of Shizitan 29, Shanxi Province: an early microblade site in north China. Journal of Archaeological Science 79: 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2017.01.007Google Scholar
Unger-Hamilton, R. 1989. The Epi-Palaeolithic southern Levant and the origins of cultivation. Current Anthropology 30: 88–103. https://doi.org/10.1086/203718Google Scholar
Unger-Hamilton, R. 1999. Experiments in harvesting wild cereals and other plants, in Anderson, P.C. (ed.) Prehistory of agriculture: 145–52. Los Angeles (CA): Institute of Archaeology, UCLA.Google Scholar
Wang, C., Jia, G., Zhi, H., Niu, Z., Chai, Y., Li, W., Wang, Y., Li, H., Lu, P., Zhao, B. & Diao, X.. 2012. Genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.) Landraces. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 2: 769–77.Google Scholar
Wang, J., Wang, X. & Chen, Z.. 1978. Xiachuan wenhua—Shanxi Xiachuan yizhi diaocha baogao [The Xiachuan culture—survey report of the Xiachuan site in Shanxi]. Kaogu Xuebao 3: 259–88 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Willcox, G. 2012. Pre-domestic cultivation during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene in the northern Levant, in Gepts, P., Famula, T.R., Bettinger, R.L., Brush, S.B., Damania, A.B., McGuire, P.E. & Qualset, C.O. (ed.) Biodiversity in agriculture: domestication, evolution, and sustainability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139019514.007Google Scholar
Yang, X., Wan, Z., Perry, L., Lu, H., Wang, Q., Zhao, C., Li, J., Xie, F., Yu, J., Cui, T., Wang, T., Li, M. & Ge, Q.. 2012. Early millet use in northern China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 109: 3726–30. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115430109Google Scholar
Zhang, J.-F., Wang, X.-Q., Qiu, W.-L., Shelach, G., Hu, G., Fu, X., Zhuang, M.-G. & Zhou, L.-P.. 2011. The Paleolithic site of Longwangchan in the Middle Yellow River, China: chronology, paleoenvironment and implications. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 1537–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.019Google Scholar
Zhao, Z. 2011. New archaeobotanic data for the study of the origins of agriculture in China. Current Anthropology 52 (S4): S295–306.Google Scholar
Zhao, Z. 2014. Zhongguo gudai nongye de xingcheng guocheng—Fuxuan chutu zhiwu yicun zhengju [The origin of agriculture in China: archaeological evidence from flotation results]. Quaternary Sciences 34 (1): 73–84 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zheng, Y., Crawford, G.W., Jiang, L. & Chen, X.. 2016. Rice domestication revealed by reduced shattering of archaeological rice from the Lower Yangtze Valley. Scientific Reports 6: article no. 28136. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28136Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Liu et al. supplementary material 1

Liu et al. supplementary material

Download Liu et al. supplementary material 1(PDF)
PDF 1.2 MB