People and plant interaction at the Houli Culture Yuezhuang site in Shandong Province, China

Abstract

Palaeoethnobotanical research at the Yuezhuang site, a Houli Culture settlement in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, dating to 8000–7700 cal. BP, documents human–environment interaction and the local subsistence economy soon after the initiation of food production in the region. This economy supported a sizeable community that occupied a kilometer stretch of floodplain along the Nandasha River. The research explores plant domestication, the extent to which the Yuezhuang population had developed a food production niche, and, to a lesser extent, the development of agriculture in the lower Yellow River valley. In order to do so, charred seeds from a variety of plant taxa were recovered by flotation of sediment from pits and cultural strata. Just over 30% of the seed assemblage is rice ( Oryza sativa), broomcorn/common millet ( Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica subsp. italica). The status of several other plants such as soybean ( Glycine max subsp. max or G. max subsp. soja), perilla ( Perilla sp.), and chenopod ( Chenopodium sp.) that are also cultivated in East Asia is also assessed. Most of the plant taxa are from open, sunlit, and anthropogenic, disrupted habitats. Diverse grasses similar to those found at later sites indicate that the farming niche documented at the late Neolithic Longshan Culture in Shandong Province was being established by 8000–7700 cal. BP. The plant remains assemblage is compared with three assemblages, two belonging to the Houli Culture and one from the late Neolithic Longshan Culture. Anthropogenic habitats and their formation, maintenance and use, wetland exploitation, cultivation, hunting–gathering–fishing, and animal management characterize the mature (late) Houli Culture niche.

Genetic evidence for a western Chinese origin of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum)

“…Speculation about European, Caucasus or Central Asia origins for broomcorn millet arose from multiple sites in central and eastern Europe, and the Caucasus, apparently of comparable antiquity (pre-5000 BC) to those in China (reviewed in Hunt et al, 2008 ), and the lack of archaeobotanical research in Central Asia. In recent years, systematic flotation and direct dating of Panicum grains at sites from Neolithic cultures across northern China have vastly increased the evidence base for pre-5000 BC broomcorn millet with domesticated-type morphology here ( Crawford et al, 2016 ; Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (GPICRA), 2006 ; Lu et al, 2009 ; Tao et al, 2011 ; Wu et al, 2014 ; Yang et al, 2012 ; Zhang et al, 2012 ; Zhao, 2011 , 2014 ; summarised in Ren et al, 2016 ). In contrast, direct dating of macrofossils from central and eastern Europe showed that their previous early Neolithic attributions were incorrect, and they date rather to ~1500 BC (the European Bronze Age) at the earliest ( Motuzaite-Matuzeviciute et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Within northern China, early (pre-5000 BC) archaeobotanical records of P. miliaceum come from several regional Neolithic cultures located in the ‘Chinese Fertile Arc’ (CFA; Ren et al, 2016 . Primary data from Crawford et al, 2016 ; GPICRA, 2006 ; Lu et al, 2009 ; Office for Preservation, Municipality of Shenyang (OPMS) and Shenyang Palace Museum (SPM), 1985 ; Tao et al, 2011 ; Wu et al, 2014 ; Yang et al, 2012 ; Zhang et al, 2012 ; Zhao, 2011 , 2014 ). We explored whether we could resolve a centre of origin of broomcorn populations from among these.…”

Beginning of pig management in Neolithic China: comparison of domestication processes between northern and southern regions

“…Direct C14 dating of carbonized grains suggest that domestic-type millets began to be found by around 7500 BP in the Yellow River Valley sites ( Stevens et al 2020 ). Early examples of charred Panicum and Setaria grains were reported from Yuezhuang 月庄 (Houli 后李 Culture, 8000 to 7700 BP) in Shandong ( Hu 2008 ; Crawford et al 2016 ). Remains of rice were also found from Yuezhuang, although whether of a wild or domestic status was ambiguous ( Crawford et al 2016 ).…”

Selection for Oil Content During Soybean Domestication Revealed by X-Ray Tomography of Ancient Beans

“…The archaeological soybeans used in this study are from four sites on the North China Plain: Yuezhuang (YZ) 32 , Shenzhongji (SZJ) 33 , Daxinzhuang (DXZ) 34 and Xijincheng (BXJ) 35 ( Fig. 1 and Supplementary Table S1 ), representing the Houli (B.P.…”