Five Cereals (China) - Archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeologically, Pengtoushan culture ca. 7500–6100 BCE on the Yangtze River has left tools of rice farming in some locations, though not at the first type site; Hemudu culture ca. 5000-4500 BCE by the coast South of the Yangtze River cultivated rice.

Xinglongwa culture ca. 6200-5400 BCE in far Northeastern China around the Inner Mongolia-Liaoning border ate millet, apparently through agriculture.

Dadiwan culture ca. 5800-5400 BCE, along the upper Yellow River ate millet; Nanzhuangtou culture ca. 8500-7700 BCE on the middle Yellow River around Hebei Province had grinding tools. Later Yangshao culture, ca. 5000-3000 BCE on the Yellow River grew millet extensively and sometimes barley and rice and vegetables, wove hemp and silk which depends on a supply of mulberry leaves and other silkworm fodder, but may have been limited to slash and burn methods.

Succeeding cultures on the Yellow River and elsewhere, which are indeed archaeologically dated with some rough connection to the legendary traditional dating of mythological agriculture-founding Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors reigns, which were early explicated by ancient Chinese historians as possible whole dynasties of reigns rather than single individuals, would increasingly suggest wider-scale and more intensive farming methods which facilitated the development of the rest of Chinese civilization by making ordinary daily provisioning a lesser concern, at least for some. By Longshan culture ca. 3000-2000 BCE along the Yellow River, sericulture, farming of domesticated silkworms for silk production is found, and definite cities appear, which depend on more advanced farm supply.

Karuo culture ca. 3300-2000 BCE in Tibet, now Western China, cultivated foxtail millet.