*Henan Research Institute of Historic Archaeology, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, 450000 PR China; **Botany Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093 PR China. Agricultural Archaeology 2000(3):77-9. Transl. by Raymond Cheng & Jia Liu, ed. by B. Gordon)

The Sanmenxia Nanjiaokao archaeological site at 111º16' E Long. & 34º43' N Lat. and 475.2-539.2 m AMSL is 7 km W of Nanjiaokao Village, Jiaokao County, Hubin District, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province. Its loess mesa top overlooks the S bank of the Qinglongjian River at a tributary confluence.

In association with superhighway construction between Luoyang and Sanmenxia, the Henan Archaeological Institute excavated 1400 sq. m from Sept., 1997 to Dec., 1998. A rich collection dates to these cultures: (a) Early and Middle Yangshao, (b) Miaodigou period 2 and (c) Erlitou. Most remains in the E part of the 1^st-20^th terraces along the riverbank are Middle Yangshao.

Soil samples from each excavation unit were wet-sieved to collect floral remains and seeds in hope of getting relevant data on the agricultural and ecological environment for each period.

Initial examination identified Middle Yangshao millet (Setaria italica), while units 97SNH21 & 97SNH25 had several whole and partial dark, friable, elliptical carbonized rice grains (Oryza sativa). Each grain has two ridges about a shallow channel, with an embryonic area clearly visible in the indentation of the radicle. Based on this and a L/W ratio=<2 (Fig. 1), they are manually husked Oryza sativa japonica. Farm stone tools are a massive shovel, axe, thin flat well-polished spade and primitive plough for dryland or paddy rice cultivation. Other stone tools are a perforated knife, flat disc, rod or pestle, mortar, etc., for harvesting and husking both millet and rice.

These finds show widespread Middle Yangshao millet in the Nanjiaokao area, plus cultivated Oryza japonica. Cultural adaptation is seen in a farm economy of both cultivated millet-type crops on riverbanks and terraces, and rice in valley wetland or swampland.

Many recent finds of farm tools have extended cultivated rice to 8,000-9,000 years ago, showing its long history, widespread distribution and many types. Thus, paddy rice origin, distribution and relations with dryland crops have become hot topics in agro-ecological archaeology. The discovery of both millet and rice in Middle Yangshao culture at Sanmenxia Nanjiaokao provide new data for the abovementioned disciplines for further analysis and research.

(1) For early Neolithic farming, scholars accepted the Yellow Valley for early millet, excluding it from paddy rice due to limited archaeological finds. Middle Yangshao paddy rice sites include (a) Henan's Zhengzhou Daohecun¹, (b) Luoyang Xigaoya², etc.; but were largely ignored due to partial analysis. Middle Yangshao paddy rice in the border area of Yu (Henan) and Xia (Shaanxi³) provide the missing link. Carbonized rice from the 1997 Shaanxi Huaxian Quanhucun 2nd excavation is contemporaneous with common rice in the Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Guanzhong areas. Besides giving the origin of Zhongyuan Longshan culture rice, it clearly shows Yellow Valley Middle Yangshao people specialized on dryland millet-type crops, with paddy rice at 35ºN Lat., S of Yellow River on valley slopes, their extent justifying a paddy zone. Thus, this area is not exclusively millet-type, but mixed millet-rice, depending on dryland for millet or paddy field for rice. This find gives concrete data for more study of rice cultivation origin location and spread and Yellow Valley Middle Yangshao agricultural economy, production and methods.

(2) The modern Yu (Henan) and Xia (Shaansi) border is continentally temperate with a prevailing wind and low annual temperature and rainfall with short growing period. Rivers are wide and shallow with low discharge, smaller Sanmenxia ones typically dry in spring, autumn and winter. The Qinglongjian N of the site is mostly dry or reduced to a trickle except in summer. Villagers say there were no paddy fields, only a bit of dryland rice field years ago. The site had warmer more humid conditions suited to rice in 6,000 year-old Middle Yangshao, when lake and swamp-sustaining climate and hydrology encouraged cultural growth. It also gave needed palaeoecological data involving links between culture and land.

(3) Nanjiaokao rice is the base for evaluating rice at Yangshao Village site, Minchi County, Sanmenxia, a short distance E. Here, a piece of fired clay, perhaps a stove wall sherd, held a Yangshao rice fragment⁴. As the site produced many Yangshao and Longshan artifacts, plus no data of earlier paddy rice in Sanmenxia, it could not be properly dated. As Nanjiaokao is accepted as Middle Yangshao contemporaneous with Yangshao Village rice embedded in hay-tempered fired brick, it can be traced to Yangshao⁵ and not Longshan because more occurs in the former. The highly speculative and heated discussion on which culture, Yangshao or Longshan, as seen in rice fragments, can now be settled.

Presently, Nanjiaokao rice is under further study, the site still active. We plan to wet-sieve more soil samples, and hopefully collect more cultivated floral remains and environmental data. With more research using advanced data-gathering, there undoubtedly will be more Middle Yangshao paddy rice finds.

References:

(1) Yan Wenming: Origin of Rice Agriculture in China (Zhongguo Daozuo Nongye Di Qiyuan). Agricultural Archaeology 1982(1-2).

(2) Luoyang Museum: Excavation Summary Report of Luoyang Xigaoya Site (Luoyang Xigaoya Yizhi Fajue Jianbao). Archaeology Journal 1981(7).

(3) Ju Hanwei: Forward to book (Yuanwangji), Shaanxi People's Publication, 1998.

(4) Huang Qixu: About rice remains from Yangshao sites (Guanyu Yangshao Yizhi Chutu Di Daogu). Shiqian Yanjiu (Prehistoric Research) 1986(1-2).

(5) Zhang Juzhong, Kong Zhaozhen & Liu Changjiang: Wuyang ancient cultivated rice and Yellow & Huai River agriculture (Wuyang Shiqian Daozuo Yicun Yu Huanyhuai Diqu Shiqian Nongye). Agricultural Archaeology 1994(1).

Fig 1