New evidence of rice domestication 9,400 years ago in China

More evidence is coming from China that is pushing back the dates of organized human activity further than scientists originally believed.

Researchers from China have found traces of rice that date back 9,400 years ago. In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the entire process is detailed, starting from the discovery of the evidence through to the subsequent testing and dating.

3D imaging of a rice phytolith from the Shangshan dig site off the Yangtze River. Credit: Houyuan Lu et al.

In a dig site around the Yangtze River, researchers collected samples from soil in which previous excavations yielded ancient pottery shards. After cleaning and heating the rice material, the scientists converted it to a powder from which then they were able to conduct the carbon dating procedure.

Specific patterns found on the phytoliths, byproducts of rice plants made of silica, revealed that the rice was indeed 9,400 years old and that it was not wild, but domesticated.

Further cementing their discovery is the cross-examining of other dates gleaned from materials found at the same depth and area of the dig site. The researchers tested seeds and charcoal from these areas and found them to be the same age, strongly indicating human activity in the area around the time of 7,400 BCE.