Investigating crop processing using phytolith analysis: the example of rice and millets

Harvey, Emma; Fuller, Dorian Q.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2004.12.010

Cited by 233 publications

(124 citation statements)

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“…Jones, MK 1984, 1985Weber 1991;Stevens 1996Stevens , 2003Fuller 2002;Harvey and Fuller 2005;Fuller and Stevens 2009;Reddy 1997Reddy , 2003Fuller et al 2014). Traditional approaches to the assessment of crop processing have looked for 'consumer' and'producer' sites (e.g., Hillman 1981, 1984;Jones, GEM 1984;Jones, MK 1984, 1985.…”

Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Indus crop processing: combining phytolith and macrobotanical analyses to consider the organisation of agriculture in northwest India c. 3200–1500 bc

Bates

Petrie

2016

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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This paper presents a preliminary study combining macrobotanical and phytolith analyses to explore crop processing at archaeological sites in Haryana and Rajasthan, northwest India. Current understanding of the agricultural strategies in use by populations associated with South Asia's Indus Civilisation (3200-1900 BC) has been derived from a small number of systematic macrobotanical studies focusing on a small number of sites, with little use of multi-proxy analysis. In this study both phytolith and macrobotanical analyses are used to explore the organisation of crop processing at five small Indus settlements with a view to understanding the impact of urban development and decline on village agriculture. The differing preservation potential of the two proxies has allowed for greater insights into the different stages of processing represented at these sites: with macrobotanical remains allowing for more species-level specific analysis, though due to poor chaff presentation the early stages of processing were missed; however these early stages of processing were evident in the less highly resolved but better preserved phytolith remains. The combined analyses suggests that crop processing aims and organisation differed according to the season of cereal growth, contrary to current models of Indus Civilisation labour organisation that suggest change over time. The study shows that the agricultural strategies of these frequently overlooked smaller sites question the simplistic models that have traditionally been assumed for the time period, and that both multi-proxy analysis and rural settlements are deserving of further exploration.

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Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Indus crop processing: combining phytolith and macrobotanical analyses to consider the organisation of agriculture in northwest India c. 3200–1500 bc

Bates

Petrie

2016

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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“…The Neolithic site of Mahagara, where macro-remains and phytoliths document mixed agriculture based on rice, other cereals and pulses since the early 2nd M. BC (Harvey and Fuller 2005), has also produced, as a result of re-examination, a dozen spikelet bases that are predominantly domesticated (Fig. 2D).…”

Section: When and How Was Rice Domesticated?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways of Rice Diversification across Asia

Fuller

Weisskopf

Castillo

2016

Archaeology International

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The archaeology of rice has made important methodological advances over the past decade that have contributed new data on the domestication process, spread and ecology of cultivation. Growing evidence from spikelet bases indicates that non-shattering, domesticated forms evolved gradually in the Yangtze basin and that there were at least two distinct processes around the Middle Yangtze region pre-dating 6000 BC, and the in the Lower Yangtze region between 6000 and 4000 BC. Early rice cultivation in these areas was based on wet field ecologies, in contrast to rainfed rice that is indicated among the earliest systems in India. When rice first spread north it was not entirely suited to shorter temperate summer growth seasons, and we are able to infer from high levels of apparently green-harvested spikelets that genetic adaptations to temperate conditions evolved after 2000 BC. When rice first spread south, to mainland Southeast Asia, after 2500 BC, it was grown in rainfed, dry ecologies that were less labourdemanding and less-productive. More productive and intensive irrigated rice then redeveloped in Southeast Asia around 2000 years ago, supporting growing population densities and social complexity. IntroductionRice is one of the world's most widely eaten and most productive cereals. Over the past decade archaeobotanical research based at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and involving a wide range of collaborators in east, south, and southeast Asia has been seeking new insights into the processes by which rice evolved and rice cultivation systems evolved, and how these relate to cultural change and long-distance cultural relationships across Monsoon Asia. While this research began with critical reflections and debate surrounding the initial cultivation of rice in China (Fuller, Harvey and Qin 2007) and India (Fuller 2006),

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“…These have been reported as the world's oldest foxtail millet in the literature (6,9,10,14). However, the millet identification has been questionable (4,11,12,15), because the macro (ash) remains were too friable to be observed under the microscope. Furthermore, very little study has been conducted on the spodograms or phytoliths of modern millets, so no clear diagnostic feature has been used to distinguish foxtail millet from common millet (12,16).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…However, the millet identification has been questionable (4,11,12,15), because the macro (ash) remains were too friable to be observed under the microscope. Furthermore, very little study has been conducted on the spodograms or phytoliths of modern millets, so no clear diagnostic feature has been used to distinguish foxtail millet from common millet (12,16). Previous study has also considered at some length how the charred dehusked grains of various native millet species might have been systematically misidentified (3).…”

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Earliest domestication of common millet ( Panicum miliaceum ) in East Asia extended to 10,000 years ago

Lü

Zhang²,

Liu³

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

713

380

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The origin of millet from Neolithic China has generally been accepted, but it remains unknown whether common millet (Panicum miliaceum) or foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was the first species domesticated. Nor do we know the timing of their domestication and their routes of dispersal. Here, we report the discovery of husk phytoliths and biomolecular components identifiable solely as common millet from newly excavated storage pits at the Neolithic Cishan site, China, dated to between ca. 10,300 and ca. 8,700 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP). After ca. 8,700 cal yr BP, the grain crops began to contain a small quantity of foxtail millet. Our research reveals that the common millet was the earliest dry farming crop in East Asia, which is probably attributed to its excellent resistance to drought.Holocene ͉ origins of agriculture ͉ phytoliths ͉ Neolithic ͉ Cishan F oxtail millet (Setaria italica) and common millet (or broomcorn millet; Panicum miliaceum) were among the world's most important and ancient domesticated crops. They were staple foods in the semiarid regions of East

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Investigating crop processing using phytolith analysis: the example of rice and millets

Cited by 233 publications

References 40 publications

Exploring Indus crop processing: combining phytolith and macrobotanical analyses to consider the organisation of agriculture in northwest India c. 3200–1500 bc

Exploring Indus crop processing: combining phytolith and macrobotanical analyses to consider the organisation of agriculture in northwest India c. 3200–1500 bc

Pathways of Rice Diversification across Asia

Earliest domestication of common millet ( Panicum miliaceum ) in East Asia extended to 10,000 years ago

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