Investigation of cereal remains at the Xiaohe Cemetery in Xinjiang, China

Rui-ping, Yang; Yang, Yimin; Li, Wenying; Abuduresule, Yidilisi; Hu, Xingjun; Wang, Changsui; Jiang, Hongen

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.020

Cited by 92 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The seeds were evidently funerary objects, which might have been considered as precious food items for the deceased (Wang 1983a). In the neighbouring Xiaohe Cemetery (1950 BC-1450 BC), some wheat grains were found sprinkled on or under the dead suggesting that these were important for the diet of the deceased in the afterlife (Yidilis et al 2004(Yidilis et al , 2007Yang et al 2014). This finding is similar to results at the Bronze Age site of Begash in southeastern Kazakhstan (chronology phase 1a, 2500 BC-1950 BC) where both wheat and millets were recovered.…”

Section: Discussion Cerealssupporting

confidence: 52%

Ancient plant use and palaeoenvironmental analysis at the Gumugou Cemetery, Xinjiang, China: implication from desiccated plant remains

Zhang

Wang

Ferguson

et al. 2015

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The Gumugou Cemetery is located in the Lop Nor region of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, northwest China. Radiocarbon dating found the site to be 3800 years BP. Due to the exceptionally arid conditions, most of the plant remains are well-preserved. Morphological and anatomical studies suggest that the plant remains consist of: Triticum cf. aestivum, Phragmites australis, Populus euphratica, Ephedra sp., as well as Typha sp. These ancient plants imply that the indigenous people lived in oases surrounded by extensive desert. Caryopses of T. cf. aestivum might have been used as funeral objects of the mummies as well as a subsidiary food source of the inhabitants, while the wild plants were used in other aspects of daily life.

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Section: Discussion Cerealssupporting

confidence: 52%

Ancient plant use and palaeoenvironmental analysis at the Gumugou Cemetery, Xinjiang, China: implication from desiccated plant remains

Zhang

Wang

Ferguson

et al. 2015

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…According to the radiocarbon dating data, these ancient wheat seeds excavated at Xiaohe and Gumugou cemetery sites were estimated to be from approximately 3800–3200 years BP (Yang et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ). However, to demonstrate the authenticity of the ancient wheat DNA with no contamination from modern DNA, we examined the empirical sequence characteristics of these ancient DNA samples, which included short‐length sequenced DNA fragments in ancient samples and abundant damage patterns (reflected as deamination‐derived C‐to‐T and G‐to‐A nucleotide mismatches) at both the 5ʹ‐ and 3ʹ‐ends of the sequenced DNA fragments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As noted above, common wheat was introduced to China approximately 4500 years ago, as supported by the hitherto oldest common wheat remnants uncovered at the ‘Donghuishan’ site in Gansu Province (dated to 4605 ± 150 and 4260 ± 80 BP) (Li and Mo, ; Flad et al ., ). Our ancient wheat samples with an estimated age of 3800–3200 BP are likely to constitute an ancient wheat population representing the status of ancient wheat after its initial introduction to China (Betts et al ., ; Yang et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ). Given that present‐day common wheat is widely grown in China in 10 agroecological zones (Figure ), we investigated whether the ancestry of the foregoing ancient wheat population had been maintained in any of the modern wheat landraces grown in China (He, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic and population structural inference from genomic ancestry maintained in present‐day common wheat Chinese landraces

Ding

Zhang

et al. 2019

The Plant Journal

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Summary Hexaploid common wheat is one of the most important food crops worldwide. Common wheat domestication began in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East approximately 10 000 years ago and then spread west into Europe and eastward into East Asia and China. However, the possible spreading route into and within China is still unclear. In this study, we successfully extracted DNA from single ancient wheat seeds and sequenced the whole genome of seven ancient samples from Xiaohe and Gumugou cemeteries in Xinjiang, China. Genomic inference and morphological observation confirmed their identity as hexaploid common wheat grown in prehistoric China at least 3200 years before present (BP). Phylogenetic and admixture analyses with RNA‐seq data of modern hexaploid wheat cultivars from both China and Western countries demonstrated a close kinship of the ancient wheat to extant common wheat landraces in southwestern China. The highly similar allelic frequencies in modern landraces of the Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau with the ancient wheat support the previously suggested southwestern spreading route into highland China. A subsequent dispersal route from the Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau margins to the Yangtze valley was proposed in this study. Furthermore, the common wheat populations grown in the Middle and Lower Yangtze valley wheat zones were also proposed to be established by population admixture with the wheat grown in the Upper Yangtze valley. Our study reports ancient common wheat sequences at a genome‐wide scale, providing important information on the origin, dispersal, and genetic improvement under cultivation of present‐day wheat landraces grown in China.

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“…were found. Therefore, the spread of wheat from west to east became clearer and clearer (Dai, Yang, Wang, Wang, & Jiang, 2013;Jiang, Li, & Li, 2007;Jiang, Zhang, Lü, & Wang, 2015;Li, Zhang, Zhang, Wang, & Jiang, 2015;Yang et al, 2014). Donghuishan was one of the important points on the Oasis Road.…”

Section: The Origin and Spread Of Donghuishan Wheat Kernelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Properties of carbonized wheat kernels from the late Neolithic site of Donghuishan, Gansu Province, China

Wei

Guo

Ren³

2019

Cereal Chem

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Background and objectives The Dongshuishan ruins in Minle, Gansu, is a site of the late Neolithic (Siba culture) with crop cultivation history. A total of 105 carbonized wheat kernels (Triticum aestivum) were found at the ruins. The properties of carbonized kernels were analyzed and then compared with modern wheat kernels. Findings The single kernel weight of carbonized kernel was 9.52 mg on average, and the length and width of a kernel were 4.62 and 3.26 mm on average, respectively. The ratio of kernel width to length was 0.71 on average. The kernel length was shorter than that of modern wheat variety, but with a similar kernel width. The carbonized kernels were higher in 15N isotope content and high in the major minerals zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and strontium (Si). The carbonized kernels have existed since 3,463–3,361 cal BP. Conclusions It is estimated that the single kernel weight from Donghuishan was 45–47% of that of the modern wheat. Studying the properties of carbonized wheat affords us a significant reference that merits attention in the progress of improving and evolving varieties in the last hundred years in China. Significance and novelty Ascertaining the cultivation years of wheat in Donghuishan and analyzing the spread of wheat from West Asia to East Asia provided historic evidence for how the wheat spread from Donghuishan to middle China since 4,000 years ago.

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Investigation of cereal remains at the Xiaohe Cemetery in Xinjiang, China

Cited by 92 publications

References 10 publications

Ancient plant use and palaeoenvironmental analysis at the Gumugou Cemetery, Xinjiang, China: implication from desiccated plant remains

Ancient plant use and palaeoenvironmental analysis at the Gumugou Cemetery, Xinjiang, China: implication from desiccated plant remains

Phylogenetic and population structural inference from genomic ancestry maintained in present‐day common wheat Chinese landraces

Properties of carbonized wheat kernels from the late Neolithic site of Donghuishan, Gansu Province, China

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