Abstract
We report the earliest and the most abundant archaeobotanical assemblage of southwest Asian grain crops from Early Bronze Age Central Asia, recovered from the Chap II site in Kyrgyzstan. The archaeobotanical remains consist of thousands of cultivated grains dating to the mid-late third millennium BCE. The recovery of cereal chaff and weeds suggest local cultivation at 2000 m.a.s.l., as crops first spread to the mountains of Central Asia. The site’s inhabitants possibly cultivated two types of free-threshing wheats, glume wheats, and hulled and naked barleys. Highly compact caryopses of wheat and barley grains represent distinct morphotypes of cereals adapted to highland environments. While additional macrobotanical evidence is needed to confirm the presence of glume wheats at Chap II, the possible identification of glume wheats at Chap II may represent their most eastern distribution in Central Asia. Based on the presence of weed species, we argue that the past environment of Chap II was characterized by an open mountain landscape, where animal grazing likely took place, which may have been further modified by people irrigating agricultural fields. This research suggests that early farmers in the mountains of Central Asia cultivated compact morphotypes of southwest Asian crops during the initial eastward dispersal of agricultural technologies, which likely played a critical role in shaping montane adaptations and dynamic interaction networks between farming societies across highland and lowland cultivation zones.
Highlights
Crops domesticated in various locations of Eurasia spread widely to new environments unlike those where they were initially cultivated
We present an early archaeobotanical assemblage consisting of southwest Asian crops recovered from the high-elevation Chap II site located in the central Tien Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan
Dated to the middle to second half of the third millennium cal BCE, the archaeobotanical assemblage of Chap II represents the earliest and the most abundant assemblage of cereal and wild plant macrobotanical remains in eastern Central Asia and is further notable for its recovery at 2000 m.a.s.l
Summary
Crops domesticated in various locations of Eurasia spread widely to new environments unlike those where they were initially cultivated. A number of crops originating in diverse landscapes of what is present-day China, such as millets, hemp and buckwheat, spread to Europe, while southwestern Asian crops, such as wheat and barley, became important food sources across monsoonal Asia [1,2,3,4]. In the past decade, sampling for botanical remains during archaeological excavation has become routine, and subsequent analysis has transformed our understanding of the timing and routes of plant dispersals through Central Asia [5,6].
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