Plant crop remains from the outer burial pit of the Han Yangling Mausoleum and their significance to Early Western Han agriculture

Yang, Xiaoyan; Liu, Changjiang; Zhang, Jianping; Yang, Wuzhan; Zhang, Xiaohu; Lü, Houyuan

doi:10.1007/s11434-009-0048-z

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Furthermore, palaeobotanical evidence revealed that wheat was recovered in significantly larger quantities than barley in most northern and northwestern Chinese sites [41], suggesting wheat was being consumed in greater proportions. While it is certain from historical records that by the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the consumption of wheat had largely surpassed millet and become the staple cereal in northern China [42, 43], the rate and the nature of how and why this shift in subsistence economy occurred is still under debate [6, 19, 44–46].…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope and dental caries data reveal abrupt changes in subsistence economy in ancient China in response to global climate change

et al. 2019

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Prior to the introduction of wheat and barley from Central Asia during the Neolithic period, northern Chinese agricultural groups subsisted heavily on millet. Despite being the focus of many decades of intensive interest and research, the exact route(s), date(s), and mechanisms of the spread and adoption of wheat and barley into the existing well-established millet-based diet in northern China are still debated. As the majority of the important introduced crops are C 3 plants, while the indigenous millet is C 4 , archaeologists can effectively identify the consumption of any introduced crops using stable carbon isotope analysis. Here we examine published stable isotope and dental caries data of human skeletal remains from 77 archaeological sites across northern and northwestern China. These sites date between 9000 to 1750 BP, encompassing the period from the beginning of agriculture to wheat’s emergence as a staple crop in northern China. The aim of this study is to evaluate the implications of the spread and adoption of these crops in ancient China. Detailed analysis of human bone collagen δ 13 C values reveals an almost concurrent shift from a C 4 -based to a mixed C 3 / C 4 – based subsistence economy across all regions at around 4500–4000 BP. This coincided with a global climatic event, Holocene Event 3 at 4200 BP, suggesting that the sudden change in subsistence economy across northern and northwestern China was likely related to climate change. Moreover, the substantially increased prevalence of dental caries from pre–to post–4000 BP indicates an increase in the consumption of cariogenic cereals during the later period. The results from this study have significant implications for understanding how the adoption of a staple crop can be indicative of large-scale environmental and socio-political changes in a region.

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Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope and dental caries data reveal abrupt changes in subsistence economy in ancient China in response to global climate change

et al. 2019

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“…A total of 86 outer burial pits surround the mausoleum ( Fig. 1b ), of which No.15 (DK15) was excavated in 1998–2005 by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology 14 17 . Pit DK15 is 21 m in length and 2.6–2.7 m in width ( Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These remains had partially decomposed, but includes grains and thin unconsolidated pieces colored brown to black. Some of the lamellae of crop remains have been identified by phytolith analysis and morphological features preserved macrofossils, including foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ), broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum ), rice ( Oryza sativa ) and domesticated chenopod ( Chenopodium giganteum ) 14 ( Fig. S1c–e ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau

Lü

Zhang

Yang

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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109

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Phytoliths and biomolecular components extracted from ancient plant remains from Chang’an (Xi’an, the city where the Silk Road begins) and Ngari (Ali) in western Tibet, China, show that the tea was grown 2100 years ago to cater for the drinking habits of the Western Han Dynasty (207BCE-9CE), and then carried toward central Asia by ca.200CE, several hundred years earlier than previously recorded. The earliest physical evidence of tea from both the Chang’an and Ngari regions suggests that a branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau, was established by the second to third century CE.

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“…Foxtail and broomcorn millets can be identified directly and effectively by morphology based on the external characteristics of modern grains [16][17][18]. Some scholars distinguish foxtail millet from broomcorn millet by analyzing the differing characteristics of the lemma and the palea with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [19].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the ultrastructural characteristics of foxtail and broomcorn millet during carbonization and its application in archaeobotany

Yang

Zhou

et al. 2011

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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Fossilized caryopses (or grains) of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) are important archaeobotanical materials for the study of early human agricultural activities. The morphology and ultrastructural characteristics of carbonized modern millets caryopses treated in a drying oven and burning in a field were investigated at different temperatures to study how fossilized millets are formed. The caryopses shrank gradually at temperatures below 200°C, and starch granules in the endosperm retained their crystalline structure. At 250°C the foxtail millet caryopses expanded, whereas the broomcorn millet caryopses were greatly deformed. At this temperature, the structure of the starch granules of both millets became amorphous. At 300°C the caryopses partially turned to ash and became porous, and the ultrastructure of the starch granules was transformed into alveolate cavities. Fossil caryopses from the prehistoric storage cellar at the Beiniu Site retained their crystalline structure and were formed by the dehydrating effect of carbonization, indicating that water molecules were not involved in the starch crystallization. The results of a field burning experiment demonstrated that the ultrastructure of carbonized caryopses placed on the ground under the fire was amorphous. The amorphous ultrastructure of the carbonized caryopses recovered from the archaeological layers is consistent with the expected structure of caryopses that have been carbonized at 250°C. Therefore, we suggest that the recovered caryopses were formed at about 250°C by baking rather than by burning in an open fire.foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, carbonization process, ultrastructural characteristics, archaeobotany Citation:Yang Q, Li X Q, Zhou X Y, et al. Investigation of the ultrastructural characteristics of foxtail and broomcorn millet during carbonization and its application in archaeobotany.

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Plant crop remains from the outer burial pit of the Han Yangling Mausoleum and their significance to Early Western Han agriculture

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

Stable isotope and dental caries data reveal abrupt changes in subsistence economy in ancient China in response to global climate change

Stable isotope and dental caries data reveal abrupt changes in subsistence economy in ancient China in response to global climate change

Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau

Investigation of the ultrastructural characteristics of foxtail and broomcorn millet during carbonization and its application in archaeobotany

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