Detecting the clue of rice cultivation through phytolith analysis during the Peiligang culture period (ca. 8000–7000 yr BP) in the Luoyang Basin, Central China

Abstract

Agriculture has been fundamental to social development and the origins of civilization. Rice (Oryza sativa), an important crop in the Neolithic Central Plain, is thought to have reached the Songshan area from southern China as early as the Peligang culture period, around 8000 yr BP. However, it remains uncertain whether rice was cultivated during the Peiligang period in the Luoyang Basin, located to the north of the Songshan area and a pivotal region in the development of Chinese civilization. This study employed phytolith analysis to investigate the development of rice agriculture in the Luoyang Basin during the middle-late Peiligang culture period (ca. 8000–7000 yr BP). The findings reveal the presence of rice bulliform phytoliths dating back to ca. 7900 yr BP, and morphometric analysis of these phytoliths suggests that rice may have been undergoing domestication. Additionally, two intervals of increased precipitation and subsequent wetland expansion occurred during the periods of ca. 7450–7350 yr BP and ca. 7200–7000 yr BP, which expanded the land area suitable for rice cultivation. Consequently, two corresponding phases of intensified agricultural activity were observed during these intervals, accompanied by population growth in the Luoyang Basin during the late Peiligang culture period (ca. 7500–7000 yr BP).