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Early Neolithic plant exploitation in north-western China: archaeobotanical evidence from Beiliu

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2024

Hui Zhou ,
Xiaoqing Wang  and
Zhijun Zhao
Hui Zhou
Affiliation:
Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi'an, P.R. China
Xiaoqing Wang*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
Zhijun Zhao*
Affiliation:
Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, P.R. China
*
*Authors for correspondence ✉ [email protected] & [email protected]
*Authors for correspondence ✉ [email protected] & [email protected]
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Abstract

China was a centre for early plant domestication, millets in the north and rice in the south, with both crops then spreading widely. The Laoguantai Culture (c. 8000–7000 BP) of the middle Yellow River region encompasses a crucial stage in the transition from hunting and gathering to farming, yet its subsistence basis is poorly understood. The authors present archaeobotanical data from the site of Beiliu indicating that farmers exploited a variety of wild and cultivated plants. The predominance of broomcorn millet accords with other Neolithic cultures in northern China but the presence of rice—some of the earliest directly dated examples—opens questions about the integration of rice cultivation into local subsistence strategies.

Keywords

East AsiaYellow River ValleyLaoguantai culturearchaeobotanysubsistence
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 98 , Issue 402 , December 2024 , pp. 1505 - 1521
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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