Abstract
This study presents compelling evidence of plant utilization from three late Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in the mountainous region of southern Zhejiang, offering insights into local agricultural practices and the emergence of mixed farming in southern China. Analysis of plant remains from the sites reveals a predominantly farming-based subsistence strategy characterized by a significant reliance on rice alongside the supplementary cultivation of foxtail millet and broomcorn millet. The consistent presence of millets across all sites suggests the establishment of a mixed-crop farming system by approximately 5300 cal. BP, although the relative proportions of rice and millets varied slightly among the sites. Additionally, the assemblage of field weeds supports the existence of a dryland farming environment. Both the mixed cropping patterns and the morphological characteristics of rice grains indicate a closer agricultural relationship with the adjacent mountainous regions of Jiangxi and Fujian, as well as the middle Yangtze Valley, rather than with other parts of the lower Yangtze valley. Overall, this study enriches our understanding of the widespread adoption of mixed farming practices in southern China since the late Neolithic period.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
