Land-use change for rice and foxtail millet cultivation in the Chengtoushan site, central China, reconstructed from weed seed assemblages

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences - Tập 4 - Trang 1-14 - 2011
Hiroo Nasu1, Hai-Bin Gu2, Arata Momohara3, Yoshinori Yasuda4
1The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Japan
2Hunan Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics, Changsha, China
3Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
4International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Nishikyo-ku, Japan

Tóm tắt

Archaeobotanical analysis of moat sediments from the Neolithic site of Chengtoushan, Hunan, China, provides evidence of the land-use change for rice and foxtail millet cultivation around the site. Rice constantly appeared through the three phases of Daxi culture with high percentages, while accompanying wetland species of paddy field weeds gradually decreased. In contrast, foxtail millet increased together with upland field and ruderal weeds through the time. These changes suggest that foxtail millet cultivation was established with the expansion of dry farming in region of the site, while rice cultivation was continuously practiced on the alluvial plain surrounding the site. This diversification of land-use through the addition of foxtail millet cultivation may be attributed to population increase or as a buffer to natural disasters such as flooding. In addition, gathering of wild nuts and fruits continued alongside cultivation. These multiple strategies for food procurement provided sustainable food supply for the population of Chengtoushan for 1,800 years.

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