Evidence of millet and millet agriculture in the Far East Region of Russia derived from archaeobotanical data and radiocarbon dating

Sergusheva, Elena A.; Leipe, Christian; Klyuev, N. A.; Batarshev, Sergey V.; Гарковик, А.В.; Dorofeeva, N. A.; Kolomiets, Sergey A; Krutykh, Evgeny B.; Malkov, Sergey S.; Moreva, Olga L.; Sleptsov, I; Hosner, Dominic; Wagner, Mayke; Tarasov, Pavel E.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2021.08.002

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Therefore, the arrival of foxtail millet in Europe is thought to postdate broomcorn millet by centuries. This contrasts with the pattern observed in East Asia, where broomcorn and foxtail millets tend to be introduced to a region simultaneously [15][16][17][38][39][40]. However, in Southeast Asia, current evidence suggests that foxtail millet predates broomcorn [41].…”

Section: Chronologies Of Western Dispersals Of Asian Milletsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Pottery Impressions Reveal Earlier Westward Dispersal of Foxtail Millet in Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

et al. 2023

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The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC) has been identified as a major pathway for the westward dispersal of millet from Northern China, where it was initially cultivated. Cross-disciplinary investigations are necessary to distinguish cultivated millet taxa from their wild relatives and to clarify the social context underlying millet adoption in novel environments. Despite the ambiguity in distinguishing Setaria italica from Panicum miliaceum or other Setaria species using conventional analysis of charred macro remains, recent attention has focused on the time gap between the introduction of S. italica to IAMC following P. miliaceum. Here, we employed a pottery impression casting method on materials from four Bronze Age sites in eastern/southeastern Kazakhstan to investigate the surface textures of grain impressions on the surface of pottery containers. We successfully identified both millets (Setaeria and Panicum) from three of the sites, Begash, Tasbas, and Dali in the IAMC. Based on our findings, two species of millet were introduced to the region within a much shorter range of time than previously estimated. In addition, the current evidence supports the premise that these cereals were likely utilized for human consumption.

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Section: Chronologies Of Western Dispersals Of Asian Milletsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Pottery Impressions Reveal Earlier Westward Dispersal of Foxtail Millet in Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

et al. 2023

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“…From north-eastern China, millet agriculture reached the Primorye region of eastern Siberia by 3,500 BC (Li et al, 2020;Sergusheva et al, 2022) and the Korean Peninsula during the Middle Chulmun period (Lee, G.-A., 2011;Bae et al, 2013;Ahn et al, 2015;Stevens and Fuller, 2017;Kim and Park, 2020;Kim, 2022). Claims have been made for the appearance of millet at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula between 6,000 and 4,500 BC (Obata and Manabe, 2014;Lee, 2017), but given these are similar to the earliest dates in northeast China they should be regarded with caution.…”

Section: Evidence For Cereal and Wild Food Use In Koreamentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of wild resources as a reflection of the resilience and changing nature of early agricultural systems in East Asia and Europe

2022

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We examine the changing importance of wild starch rich plant staples, predominantly tree nuts, in early agricultural societies in East Asia and Europe, focusing on Korea, Japan, and Britain. A comparative review highlights variations in the importance of wild plant staples compared to domesticated crops. The Korean Middle to Late Chulmun periods (c. 3,500–1,500 BC) was characterized by a high reliance on nuts alongside millet. This declines with the transition to rice agriculture, but remains significant during the Mumun period (c. 1,500–300 BC). In Japan, the arrival of rice and millets in the Yayoi Period (c. 1,000 BC−250 AD) saw continued evidence for high levels of reliance on wild resources, which declines only in the Kofun and early historical periods. In Early Neolithic Britain (c. 4,000–3,300 BC) cereal agriculture is accompanied by high evidence for wild plant foods. But during the Middle to Late Neolithic (3,300–c. 2,400/2,200 BC) cereals were abandoned on the mainland with hazelnuts becoming a prominent plant staple. Agriculture returned in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, followed by a strong decline in wild plant food use during the Middle to Late Bronze Age (1,700–700 BC). Such patterns have previously been attributed to the slow adoption of farming by indigenous peoples, with a continued reliance on wild resources. In light of evidence demonstrating that the dispersal of agriculture was largely driven by a mixture of demic-diffusion and introgression of hunter-gatherers into agricultural groups, a reinterpretation of the role of wild foods is needed. It is argued that the relative importance of wild plant staples provides an indicator of the stability and dependability of agricultural and social systems. A heavy reliance on wild foods in early agricultural societies is tied to the slow adaptation of domesticated crops to new environments, where agricultural and social landscapes are yet to be firmly established, and social systems that could mitigate for poor harvests and storage were often absent. The retained lengthy persistence of wild plant staples in East Asian subsistence systems compared to the British Isles likely reflects differences in the ecological and labor demands for rice compared to Western Asiatic cereals.

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“…BP, the number of archaeological sites found to contain traces of millet increased over a wider geographical area [21][22][23][24][25]. This includes areas to the south and southeast [26][27][28][29][30][31][32], northeast [14,15,20,33], and northwest [34][35][36][37] of the original region in which such crops were found in earlier periods. To the north, millet spread into the northern Shaanxi region at about 5500 cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BP [35]). (3) Northeast [33]: The millet probably spread from the West Liaohe region to the Far East of Russia. Representative sites, 20.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rettikhovka-Geologicheskaya (4406-4014 cal. BP [33]). (4) South and Southeast [22,27,28,31]: The early spread of millets began in the Peiligang culture area in Henan province and the Beixin culture area in Shandong province and then spread to the Dazhangzhuang site in the Nanyang basin of Henan province [22], the Chengtoushan site in Hunan province, and the Shuangdun site in Anhui province [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early Millet Use and Its Environmental Impact Factors in Northern Shaanxi, Northwest China

Liu

Song

et al. 2023

Agronomy

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Northern Shaanxi is important in understanding the ancient use and northward spread of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Nonetheless, due to the lack of millet remains, AMS radiocarbon data, and environmental background, the emergence, crop structure, and environmental factors of millet use in northern Shaanxi remain ambiguous. To address this knowledge gap, a systematic survey was conducted along the Beiluo River. Forty-two relic units at 19 Neolithic sites were selected for analysis through phytolith, AMS radiocarbon dating, and spatio-temporal approaches. Phytolith and AMS radiocarbon dating analyses traced the utilization of millets in the Beiluo River to 6280 cal. BP. In addition, broomcorn millet was more prevalent than foxtail millet during the Neolithic period, although the prevalence of the latter increased during the late Longshan period. Spatio-temporal analysis demonstrated that millets initially appeared in the Beiluo River during the Yangshao period, gradually moving away during the Longshan period, which was probably first related to the nearest rivers and then the spread of cattle and sheep. However, the millet cultivation altitude remained at 1400 m throughout the Yangshao and Longshan periods. Collectively, these findings provide evidence for the use and northward spread of millets in northwest China.

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Evidence of millet and millet agriculture in the Far East Region of Russia derived from archaeobotanical data and radiocarbon dating

Cited by 7 publications

References 40 publications

Pottery Impressions Reveal Earlier Westward Dispersal of Foxtail Millet in Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

Pottery Impressions Reveal Earlier Westward Dispersal of Foxtail Millet in Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

The importance of wild resources as a reflection of the resilience and changing nature of early agricultural systems in East Asia and Europe

Early Millet Use and Its Environmental Impact Factors in Northern Shaanxi, Northwest China

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