Zhao Dongsheng, Nanjing University, Zhejiang Province, PR CHINA, Agricultural Archaeology 2000(1):56-57. Transl. by Xi Zhang, ed./interpr. B. Gordon

        I read every issue of Agricultural Archaeology, a wonderful journal I once read for entertainment, but now for vast spiritual food. My study of Agricultural Archaeology elicit the following points, which I hope others can correct.

        "Primitive agriculture and poultry developed from gathering and hunting" was accepted by most archaeologists and became common, but I give it new significance.

        While researching material on the agricultural origin problem, agricultural archaeologists helped me but withheld personal opinion. After consulting domestic and foreign experts, I classify academic circles on agricultural origin as: (1) starting at places where crops occur, often those with favorable weather and other conditions; (2) starting from foothills in a semilunar or round pattern and radiating out; and (3) starting under unfavorable conditions where food was absent and people sought new resources. Whatever, agriculture began by gathering seed and fruit, adding accumulated experience from plants and flowers. Its purpose was not to harvest complex crops, but large amounts of simple crops like sweet potato, taro, etc. Early agriculture met only essential conditions like food demand, and if hunting or other activities filled this need, it would not have appeared. People planted only if animals became scarce or overpopulation caused a food crisis. Ancient agriculture, as seen in farm tools, developed only in certain areas and differed from modern agriculture. Hunters and gatherers moved to more suitable places, the final outcome being stable food resources and settlement.

        Society began with hunting-gathering because it met food demand, as it did for animals. To avoid extinction, people met high level demands of a changing environment. It didn't mean agriculture facilitated society because other elements were need to build civilization.

        Environment, weather, culture, etc., unbalanced growth and agriculture. Agricultural growth and origin are inseparable, but may be studied separately. One origin began with gathering tubers, with gatherers remaining static, while other agriculturists advanced.

        Thus, current research on agricultural origin can't be limited to tubers or ancestors of modern crops due to environmental concerns. In contrast, origin did not begin in dense rain forest but possibly where animals and plants are absent because this would generate pressure to develop new food resources. Of course, local conditions like other original crops, easy-to-farm land and tools allow exploitation in heavily populated areas like the Loess Plateau, China and the world's centre for millet and chestnut. Origins could be in places of original crops where other animal and plant resources are absent; e.g., inundated lowland and marsh suited to wild grain but not migratory animals. As people must have utilized original crops, I think grain origin should be less in S China and more in N China because my research finds an upper Huai River origin famous for Jiahu culture, and from where wild grain dispersed over N China, esp. at 28-38N Lat under warmer climate 8000 years ago. There are several climatic changes when wild grain disappeared along Huai River. Its latitude is still above Yangtze River and S China and it's colder in winter with four distinct seasons. If we can imagine the 8000 year-old cold, when animals migrated in winter and people got less food, they tried to grow and store wild grain. Environmental and cultural push promoted developing original grain. But it's useless to consider grain origin along the Yangtze River and S China because the four seasons are indistinct, being full of plants and animals throughout.

        I believe animal domestication has no direct relationship to agricultural growth because the former concerns human-animal interaction. Some undeveloped places retain animal domestication without agriculture, but their people have many food sources, something possible before agriculture because people can catch animals and domesticate them for food.

        This is what I learned reading Agricultural Achaeology. I hope other experts correct any mistakes.