The Character of Carbonized Rice in Hunan Archaeological Site

Summary

Based on the comprehensive analysis of grain shape and embryos of carbonized rice from archaeological sites, the author draws conclusions as follows:

a. There is a difference in shape of spikelet base between cultivated rice and wild rice, but it is difficult to make comparable measurements. Therefore, it is possible to identify rice by using the characteristics of the spikelet base based on one’s experience, but it is difficult to make comparisons between different researchers.

b. According to my study, some wild characteristics still can be observed on the cultivated rice of the Qujialing Culture dated to 5000 years ago. This suggests that some changes of morphological characteristics may have lagged during the process of rice domestication.

c. Based on the results of discriminant analysis, the percentage of cultivated rice gradually increases :47%→67%→79%→92%. This pattern suggests that the morphological characteristics of rice changed gradually during the process of rice domestication. The origin of cultivated rice is therefore a long evolutionary process.

d. However, in the rice domestication process, the evolutionary speed of change differs for grain shape, awn, and embryo.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22419