Early Rice Cultivation Research Articles

PAPERS ON THAILAND ARCHAEOLOGY] Rice in pottery: new evidence for early rice cultivation in Thailand

PAPERS ON THAILAND ARCHAEOLOGY] Rice in pottery: new evidence for early rice cultivation in Thailand

Cord Impressed Ware and rice cultivation in South Asia, China and Japan: possibilities of inter-links

Core Impressed Ware, named because it has cord-impressed decorations on the outer surfaces, is commonly associated with all early rice growing regions of Asia. Archaeological, ethnographic and linguistic data indicate possible interlinks among Cord Impressed pottery and early rice growing regions. Pottery making is far older than agriculture in East Asia. In Japan, Cord Impressed Pottery is associated with the Jomon culture and has now been dated to 13,000 BP. A large number of early rice cultivation sites scattered throughout southeastern coastal China, in the Yangtze Valley, and in Southern China have also yielded Cord-Impressed ware. Archaeological sites in Indochina , the Ganga Valley, the Vindhya, eastern and northeastern India, and in the Himalayas also contain abundant evidence of rice cultivation and Cord-Impressed Ware. The central position of rice in cultures throughout southern and eastern Asia has great antiquity, reflecting both the nutritional value of rice and its long history of cultivation. Linguistic data, in combination with rituals and festivals associated with rice, mirror the original spread of cultivation, and parallel the distribution of Cord-Impressed Ware. Rituals, festivals and agricultural rites associated with rice, are prevalent in early rice growing regions of Asia. The myths of the origin of rice in distant regions have striking similarities, indicating some interlinks. The varied rituals and incredible respect for the cereal perhaps indicate remote antiquity. Hence, Cord Impressed Ware, early dates for rice cultivation in different regions, linguistic data and similarity of agricultural rites, rituals, and festivals, and deep respect for rice all point towards remote antiquity in India and strong inter-links among China, Japan and India over millennia.

Cord Impressed Ware and rice cultivation in South Asia, China and Japan: possibilities of inter-links

Core Impressed Ware, named because it has cord-impressed decorations on the outer surfaces, is commonly associated with all early rice growing regions of Asia. Archaeological, ethnographic and linguistic data indicate possible interlinks among Cord Impressed pottery and early rice growing regions. Pottery making is far older than agriculture in East Asia. In Japan, Cord Impressed Pottery is associated with the Jomon culture and has now been dated to 13,000 BP. A large number of early rice cultivation sites scattered throughout southeastern coastal China, in the Yangtze Valley, and in Southern China have also yielded Cord-Impressed ware. Archaeological sites in Indochina, the Ganga Valley, the Vindhya, eastern and northeastern India, and in the Himalayas also contain abundant evidence of rice cultivation and Cord-Impressed Ware. The central position of rice in cultures throughout southern and eastern Asia has great antiquity, reflecting both the nutritional value of rice and its long history of cultivation. Linguistic data, in combination with rituals and festivals associated with rice, mirror the original spread of cultivation, and parallel the distribution of Cord-Impressed Ware. Rituals, festivals and agricultural rites associated with rice, are prevalent in early rice growing regions of Asia. The myths of the origin of rice in distant regions have striking similarities, indicating some interlinks. The varied rituals and incredible respect for the cereal perhaps indicate remote antiquity. Hence, Cord Impressed Ware, early dates for rice cultivation in different regions, linguistic data and similarity of agricultural rites, rituals, and festivals, and deep respect for rice all point towards remote antiquity in India and strong inter-links among China, Japan and India over millennia.

Rice Remains in the Prehistoric Pottery Tempers of the Shell Midden Site of Samrong Sen: Implications for Early Rice Cultivation in Central Cambodia

La découverte de restes de riz parmi les dégraissants des poteries du site de Samrong Sen et ses implications sur l'histoire de la culture du riz dans le centre du Cambodge. II est fort possible que la culture et la domestication du riz dans les plaines inondables du centre du Cambodge remontent à la préhistoire. Certaines fouilles archéologiques menées par l'auteur sur le site de Samrong Sen, situé dans la zone inondable du Tonle Sap, ont montré que la balle de riz était, parmi d'autres sous-produits agricoles, utilisée comme dégraissant dans les poteries. Les restes analysés pourraient remonter à 3 600 ans au plus tard. En 1999, l'analyse de quelques centaines de tessons mis au jour sur le site a permis d'identifier pour la première fois un certain nombre de spécimens de grains de riz entiers. L'analyse morphologique de chaque spécimen a révélé que certains d'entre eux présentaient des traits caractéristiques de la sous-espèce Oryza indica et de certaines variétés d'Oryza sativa. Le présent article présente les résultats de l'analyse des restes de riz mis au jour à Samrong Sen, examine l'histoire de l'apparition du riz dans la zone du Tonle Sap et suggère quelques pistes de recherche dans le domaine du riz à l'époque préhistorique au Cambodge.

A brief reinterpretation of the pollen record from Khok Phanom Di, central Thailand, and its archaeological significance

In 1989 and again in 1992, Antiquity reported evidence for early rice cultivation in central Thailand. A brief supplement clarifies the story.

Early rice cultivation in Southeast Asia: archaeological and palynological evidence from the Bang Pakong Valley, Thailand

In Southeast Asia the archaeological record is virtually silent about early rice cultivation, for which there is now good evidence from the Chinese Neolithic. Here, new fieldwork from Thailand provides both direct evidence of rice cultivation and, earlier, an indirect clue from palynological indicators.