Crop cultivation of Middle Yayoi culture communities (fourth century bce–first century ce) in the Kanto region, eastern Japan, inferred from a radiocarbon-dated archaeobotanical record

Abstract

AMS-dated archaeobotanical assemblages from hearth deposits of Middle Yayoi (fourth century bce–first century ce) cultural layers of the Maenakanishi site (36°09′N, 139°24′E) in northern Saitama Prefecture demonstrate that besides rice, foxtail and broomcorn millet were the most important staple crops during the second and first centuries bce. The reliance on less demanding dry-field crops at Maenakanishi and other Early to Middle Yayoi settlements in north-western Kanto and the Central Highlands in eastern central Japan contrasts with concurrent agricultural production in western and north-eastern (Tohoku) Japan, where rice cultivation generally dominated and millets apparently played a minor role. Two factors, which likely influenced this pattern, are the uneven density distribution and the cultural heterogeneity of indigenous non-agricultural Jomon populations during the formation and spread of the Yayoi culture (tenth/fourth century bce–250 ce) brought to the Japanese islands by farmers from the Asian mainland. In western Japan the spread of rice cultivation was likely promoted by low Jomon population densities. The higher importance of foxtail and broomcorn millet at Maenakanishi may be explained by cultural influence from the northern Central Highlands. Early agricultural communities in this region appear to have preferred these newcomer crops that required less labour and organisational efforts.

Archaeobotanical evidence of plant cultivation from the Sanbaopi site in south-western Taiwan during the Late Neolithic and Metal Age

“…Whether this shows a preference of taste or better suitability for cultivation related to biotic or abiotic factors, such as climate conditions, is a matter of ongoing research in different regions. While the first motivation is difficult to test, the ratios from Sanbaopi 5 are in line with available data from other sites with prehistoric evidence for millet cultivation, which have fuelled the hypothesis that broomcorn millet thrives better under relatively dry climate conditions and foxtail millet under relatively moist conditions (Leipe et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2009) as is the case for the study region at least during the main growing season. Although represented by only one seed kernel, Job's-tears was probably another component of the prehistoric crop package in the study area.…”

Pottery Impressions Reveal Earlier Westward Dispersal of Foxtail Millet in Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

“…An additional advantage of this method is that it enables investigations of the rich ceramic assemblages previously excavated, eliminating the need for new excavations for data collection. This method has been previously applied in Japan [14,15], South Korea [16], eastern Russia [17], Ukraine [18], Belarus [19], and Western Kazakhstan [20], and has been proven productive in providing insights into agricultural dispersals, their chronology, and changes in subsistence across time and space. The specific procedure and methodology have been presented in several papers [21][22][23].…”