The Jiahu site (ca. 9000–7500 cal. BP) in the Huai River valley has yielded the earliest reported evidence of fermented alcoholic beverages in China. Previous chemical residue analyses interpreted these beverages as a mixture of rice, honey, and fruit, differing markedly from brewing traditions documented at other Neolithic sites in China. To reassess Jiahu brewing practices, we analyzed microfossils preserved in residues from 16 pottery sherds. The residues contained abundant starch granules, phytoliths, and fungal remains, including Monascus cleistothecia, hyphae, and yeast cells, together with starch damage patterns resulting from enzymatic hydrolysis, mashing, and cooking-induced gelatinization. Plant remains included rice, Panicoideae and Triticeae cereals, Job’s tears, foxnut, underground storage organs (USOs), and other taxa. Rice starches and Monascus remains were the most ubiquitous components, indicating that rice and Monascus formed the basis of qu-based brewing, while evidence consistent with malt saccharification was also identified. Together with previous chemical analyses, these findings suggest that Jiahu brewing relied primarily on qu-based saccharification, with contributions from malt-based processing, while honey and fruits may have supplied additional fermentable sugars. Integrating chemical and microfossil evidence provides a robust framework for reconstructing ancient brewing technologies.

Understanding how agricultural practices were organised in early complex societies is essential for reconstructing the relationships among subsistence, labour, and social organisation. This study examines Xiangjiazhou, the largest known Zhou dynasty settlement in the Weishui River basin, south-central China, by integrating macrobotanical remains, phytolith evidence, and spatial analysis. The results indicate a rice-dominated agricultural economy. Charred seed remains and phytolith assemblages both show that rice (Oryza sativa) was the principal crop, whereas foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) occurred only in low frequencies and limited contexts, suggesting secondary roles within a diversified farming system. Phytolith evidence from rice plant parts further indicates a staged crop-processing sequence: the marked predominance of husk phytoliths over stem and leaf phytoliths suggests that initial threshing probably occurred off-site, with semi-cleaned spikelets brought into the settlement for later dehusking, consumption, or discard. Spatial analysis shows that plant remains were concentrated mainly in pits and wells rather than evenly distributed across occupation surfaces. These features are interpreted as secondary accumulation or refuse contexts, indicating the deposition of crop-processing debris around domestic activity zones rather than direct evidence for in situ processing inside the features themselves. Together, the evidence suggests a household-oriented and spatially organised agricultural system, combining long-standing local wet-rice farming with minor millet cultivation introduced through broader regional interactions. Xiangjiazhou therefore provides a case study for understanding how frontier communities negotiated crop choice, labour organisation, and local autonomy within the changing sociopolitical landscapes of the Zhou dynasty.

The spatiotemporal trajectories of crop dispersal are crucial for understanding agricultural development and cultural interaction among prehistoric populations. The middle-lower Huai River represents a geographic, climatic, and vegetation transitional zone between northern and southern China and has long been regarded as a key region for Neolithic agricultural exchange. However, the timing and processes by which rice and millets appeared in this region remain unclear. Here, phytolith analysis from the Qugou site, together with phytolith carbon dating, reveals the earliest crop cultivation and domestication process in this area. The results show that rice was cultivated as the staple crop from at least 8.8 ka BP. Broomcorn millet and foxtail millet were introduced later, at 7.2 and 6.4 ka BP, respectively, and functioned as supplementary components of the cropping system. In addition, rice remains recovered from Qugou were the domesticated Japonica type, while broomcorn millet shows evidence of an ongoing domestication process. These findings represent the earliest evidence for the exploitation of both rice and millets in the middle-lower Huai River and provide new insights into Neolithic agricultural practices, crop dispersal, and human adaptation strategies in eastern China.

Rectangular, shallow, small-sized pits containing charcoal, ash, bone fragments, and red-fired clay patches are frequently discovered at Neolithic sites in South China. However, their cultural nature and the mortuary practices they represent have long been disputed. This study presents a comprehensive multiproxy analysis of such pit features from the Luojiachong (LJC) and Tianduanli (TDL) sites during the Shijiahe Culture in Hunan Province, China. By integrating microscopic observation, histological analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, colorimetry, micro-crack assessment, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and phytolith analysis, we identify the bone fragments as human remains that were burned at temperatures of 700–900°C, confirming the practice of cremation. Furthermore, low-temperature thermal signatures (<~550°C) detected on the red pit walls and ash-rich fills, as well as the occurrence of charring phytoliths, and small and shallow pit features indicate a separate ritualistic fire practice, interpreted as “warming the grave”, a pre-burial symbolic act to provide warmth and dryness for the deceased. Systematic cutting marks on bones suggest pre-cremation mortuary processing, likely dismemberment or secondary cremation burial. This study advances our understanding of the early development of cremation customs, death rituals, and cultural regionalism in the late Neolithic South China.

The porcelain chicken drumstick shaped vase (Jitui Ping) was a prevalent utilitarian object among nomadic groups in North China during the Liao and Jin periods. This study presents a comprehensive scientific analysis of the residue found within a Jitui Ping from the Jin dynasty grave in Tianjin City, China. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach including elemental analysis (ICP-MS), organic compound detection (LC-MS), ancient DNA analysis for microbial profiling, and microfossil identification, we aimed to determine the nature and origin of the residue. The chemical profile closely matches traditional Chinese yellow wine (huangjiu), featuring key compounds like beta-phenylethanol, organic acids, esters, and amino acids. Ancient DNA analysis reveals dominant phyla such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Ascomycota, which are typical of modern Chinese fermentation environments. Most notably, the presence of Ascomycota cleistothecia and a microbial signature indicative of qu starter confirms the use of this ancient Chinese biotechnology. These confirm the residue to be an ancient alcoholic beverage. Furthermore, the presence of Asteraceae phytoliths and Artemisia spp. pollen in the microfossil record, coupled with the absence of typical Daqu microbial markers, points towards the use of a Xiaoqu starter prepared with medicinal herbs, specifically Artemisia spp. This practice is well documented in historical texts, suggesting the beverage was a specific type of Chinese yellow wine brewed using an Artemisia-qu starter. This study not only confirms the chicken drumstick shaped vase as a Jin dynasty wine vessel but also elucidates 12th-century China's sophisticated fermentation techniques, meticulous ingredient selection, and culturally embedded dietary practices, thereby revealing an ancient Chinese philosophical concept known as the "homology of medicine and food" in culinary traditions.

The Huai River Basin, located in the transition zone between the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, plays a significant role in the integration and development of Neolithic cultures. Lack of precipitation reconstructions from the Huai River Basin limits our knowledge on patterns and mechanisms of precipitation in the East Asian monsoon (EAM) region during the 4.2 ka event, which also hinders our understanding of the relationship between Neolithic culture transitions and climate change. In this study, we report a pollen record from the Wufan profile in the upper Huai River Basin. Our record indicates a wetter climate condition during the 4.2 ka event, which is in contrast to the reconstructed dry conditions in northern China. We further integrated accurately dated precipitation records of the 4.2 ka event and found a significant "dry-wet-dry" precipitation pattern in the EAM region during this cooling period. Specifically, northern China was relatively dry, the Jianghuai region was relatively wet, and the southwestern region was relatively dry. This pattern was likely driven by El Nino-like conditions in the tropical Pacific. In addition, we discovered a close link between the collapse of Neolithic cultures and the increased precipitation in central-eastern China, which is likely dominated by the El Nino-like states in the tropical Pacific.

The archaeological sediment successions from the Wanbei site provide an ideal case for reconstructing both natural and human‐induced environmental changes in the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River valley located in the transitional zone of eastern China during the Middle Holocene. The findings of this work, in terms of phytoliths, pollen and spores, and chemical elemental analyses suggest that the climatic conditions that were recorded in the Wanbei profile responded well to broader climatic changes, with an overall warm and humid climate during 5700–5300 a BP, albeit with a cooling trend between 5600 and 5400 a BP. Rice ( Oryza sativa ) was always the main cereal crop in mixed rice‐millet farming owing to warm and humid conditions, although the proportions of broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum ) and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ) significantly increased during the cooling period. The structural characteristics and adjustments of mixed farming over time show an adaptation strategy in response to the climatic changes at Wanbei. Furthermore, multiple indicators reveal that human activities at the Wanbei site would increase rather than decrease during the cooling period between 5600 and 5400 a BP. This study not only highlights the dynamic nature of early agricultural societies, but also enhances our understanding of their adaptation strategies in response to climatic changes in the middle and lower Huai River valley during the Middle Holocene.

As an important way of maximizing land productivity by growing more than one crop type in the same field, mixed cropping has been an effective option for sustaining population growth under different climatic conditions since prehistoric period. We used a combination of archaeological data and an improved prehistoric land use model (PLUM) to quantitatively reconstruct spatiotemporal changes in cropland types and areas in the Huai River Valley of China, a core region of mixed cropping during the Holocene. The total cropland area increased more than 25 times during 8-2 ka BP, with northward expansion of rice-dominated cultivation during 5-4 ka BP and southward expansion of dry-dominated cultivation after 4 ka BP. Temperature and precipitation determined cropland types distribution, while that of cropland area was controlled by cultural development. The interplay between past climate, culture, and cultivation potentially provides useful insights into mitigating future population pressures with climate change.

The middle and lower Huai River Valley, located between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, was a key transitional zone for the northward spread of rice and southward migration of millet agriculture in central-eastern China during the Holocene. Knowing when millets spread here, how they were combined with rice in mixed farming, the reasons for their spread, and the temporal variation of cropping patterns is of crucial significance to the development of our understanding of ancient adaptation strategies adopted by human societies in response to climatic and cultural changes. Focusing on crops, phytolith analyses of the soil samples, in tandem with radiocarbon dating from the Wanbei site, reveal evidence of a multicropping pattern of combining rice (Oryza sative), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) during the Dawenkou culture period between 5720 and 4426 cal. BP in the middle and lower Huai River Valley, China. The data show that rice was always the principal crop of the pattern, and that domesticated rice was developed during the early and middle Dawenkou culture periods. However, its domestication rate became lower during the late Dawenkou culture period. Broomcorn millet and foxtail millet with domesticated traits appeared only in lower proportions of the total produced throughout the period. The proportions of rice and foxtail millet increased slightly, while the proportions of broomcorn millet decreased over time. Finally, the formation of the multicropping pattern at Wanbei may have been primarily influenced by both the warm and wet climatic environment and the cultural exchange and communication between the Haidai region and the middle and lower Huai River Valley during the Dawenkou culture period. The findings in this paper may not only contribute to mapping the spatiotemporal route for the northward expansion of rice agriculture and southward spread of millet agriculture, but also assist in understanding the human adaptation strategies employed in eastern China during the Holocene.

禹会村遗址是淮河中游地区的一处大型龙山文化时期城址,了解其农业活动有助于认识本地区新石器时代末期的农业发展水平与社会组织形式等.本文对禹会村遗址2017年和2020年两个发掘区的49份样品进行了植硅体分析,在多个遗迹单位中发现不同浓度的水稻特征性植硅体,未发现粟遗存的证据.结合已有研究成果,本文认为禹会村遗址龙山文化时期的农作物以水稻(Oiyza sativa)为主,粟(Setaria italica)在农业结构中所占比重较低.遗址中发现的水稻植硅体以来自茎叶的扇型植硅体为主,而且不同区域水稻植硅体分布浓度存在明显的差异,反映禹会村遗址的水稻收割方式可能为连杆收割,将水稻带入遗址内分开完成脱粒与脱壳行为.其中城垣区水稻加工活动可能存在集中完成的现象,而生活遗迹区是以家庭为单位开展.此外,水稻扇型植硅体形态参数分析结果显示,禹会村遗址龙山文化时期水稻驯化水平较低,可能存在包括粳稻在内多个水稻品种.本文揭示了禹会村遗址龙山文化时期农业结构、农作物的加工活动及农业发展水平等相关信息,为进一步研究淮河中游地区龙山文化时期农业生产及与其相关的社会组织形式等方面提供了新的科学依据.

本文利用植硅体分析方法,对安徽蚌埠禹会村遗址双墩文化时期44份土壤样品开展植物考古研究,重点关注典型农作物植硅体类型及其形态特征,以及敏感型与固定型植硅体组合特征等.结果显示,禹会村遗址大部分样品中皆发现有水稻特征型植硅体,并未发现粟、黍等旱地作物遗存;水稻扇型及双峰型植硅体形态特征分析显示,水稻遗存为驯化程度较高的粳型稻.以上研究结果表明,该遗址双墩文化时期的农业结构延续了顺山集文化时期以来种植粳型稻为主的传统.此外,通过水稻植硅体高密度样品中敏感型与固定型植硅体含量比值为0.7±0.2推测,该遗址水稻栽培环境属于"高地势-雨水供给"或"低地势-雨水供给"类型.本文研究结果为探讨淮河中游地区新石器时代农业发展、水稻栽培与驯化以及人类适应策略等问题提供了重要科学依据.

Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replaced millet as the primary crop in the core regions of early Imperial China. Previous studies have suggested that wheat cultivation likely became widespread prior to or during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). Here, we tested this hypothesis by applying archeobotanical tools to plant remains found in five pottery model granaries ( cang ) entombed in a newly excavated late Western Han burial at the Longzaocun cemetery in the Guanzhong Basin. This analysis allowed us to explore the extent of wheat expansion and agricultural strategies in the heartland of early dynastic China. Macro- and micro-botanical evidence shows that the Longzaocun residents consumed two kinds of crops: foxtail and common millet. Combining these findings with previous studies, we argue that millet-based multi-crop farming dominated the regional agricultural system during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 8) and analyze the political and cultural motivations for the Han people’s usage on millet crops from the burial concepts and fiscal systems. Echoing previous studies, we argue that millets remained the most valuable subsistence food for inhabitants of the Loess Basins in the Han core, and that wheat was not cultivated on a large scale in this area during the Western Han Dynasty.

The use of rice and millet has been uncovered at a few archaeological sites associated with the Shuangdun Culture (ca. 7.3–6.8 ka BP) in the middle catchment of the Huai River, China. Nevertheless, the consumption of rice, millet, and other types of plant foods at other contemporaneous sites in the same region still needs supporting information from more case studies. This article examines pottery sherds (n = 21) excavated from another representative Shuangdun Culture site at Houjiazhai with starch grain analysis. Varied types of pottery vessels contain starch remains from rice (Oryza sativa), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Triticeae, roots of snake gourd (Trichosanthes kirilowii), lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), Chinese yam (Dioscorea panthainca), lily bulbs (Lilium sp.), acorns (Quercus sp.), and beans (Vigna sp. or/and Vicia sp.). Further quantitative analysis of the starch data indicates that cereals, including rice and millet, were predominantly consumed in the pottery vessels. Changes and continuities of culinary practices are also present at Houjiazhai, which are reflected in the different pottery assemblages as well as the utilized plant species in different occupation phases at the site. Combining previous studies, this article also reveals the differences and similarities of the past population in choosing their plant food resources during the period of Shuangdun Culture in the middle catchment of the Huai River, China.

The radiocarbon (14C) dating of lake sediments is often beset by the problem of the existence of a carbon reservoir and its effect on the dated materials, which in turn influences the reliability of paleoclimatic reconstructions from lake sediments. Changes in the carbon reservoir of lake sediments are usually attributed to changes in old carbon input from the surrounding catchment caused by climatic variations or human activities. However, there is much uncertainty regarding the main driver of changes in the carbon reservoir when both climate changes and human activities coexist. We compared the 14C ages of bulk sediment samples and charcoals with the published age-model for Lake Nvshan, which is based on terrestrial plant macrofossils. The results show that the use of charcoals 14C ages for dating the sediments of Lake Nvshan is unreliable. We then obtained a time series of changes in the carbon age offset (Δt) of the bulk sediments from Lake Nvshan. The results show that prior to a significant increase in human activities, changes in Δt coincided with changes in precipitation and in the pollen concentration/total organic carbon (TOC) contents of the lake sediments; whereas after the onset of increasing human activities, changes in Δt coincided with the size of the human population of surrounding area. Prior to the increase in human activities, a higher Δt likely resulted from decreases in rainfall and phytomass which caused a reduction in contemporaneous carbon inputs. Thereafter, a higher Δt was caused by intensive human land-use and the resulting input of more old carbon. Our findings reveal a shift in the main factors influencing the Δt of bulk sediments, which was caused by the intensification of human activities in the anthropic zone. Our findings contribute to an improved understanding of the factors modulating the Δt in lake sediments.

Recent studies have provided evidence of alcohol production and consumption in 16 sites in northern China during the Neolithic period, focusing on the Yangshao Culture ( ca . 7,000–5,000 cal. BP). Yet, the comparison of similarities and differences in brewing technology and drinking patterns within the Yangshao Culture still needs more supporting information from case studies in different regions. In this paper, 17 pottery samples excavated from the Yangshao Culture site of Qingtai ( ca . 5,500–4,750 cal. BP) in the central part of Henan Province were analyzed for microfossils (starch grains, phytoliths, fungi) and organic acids, on the basis of the theoretical model constructed from our simulation experiments. The results revealed a mixed filtered alcoholic beverage, likely to be fermented by fruit and/or honey. The ingredients were mainly foxtail millet, rice, Job’s tears, Triticeae, snake gourd roots, lotus roots, legumes, nuts, fruits, and/or honey. What’s more, we found that the jiandiping amphora from Qingtai was not likely used for brewing or drinking. In terms of prehistoric drinking habits, in the large-scale settlement of the late Yangshao Culture in China, it is possible that people drank filtered alcohol alone or that a few people drank filtered alcohol poured from the painted bottle, indicating a switch from communal drinking to individual drinking. This study sheds light on the similarities and differences in brewing techniques, fermentation ingredients, and drinking patterns among different regions of the late Neolithic Yangshao Culture, and deepens our understanding of alcoholic beverages in the early Chinese civilized societies.

Variations in East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation impact agriculture, water resources, electricity generation, and economic development in the densely populated region of central eastern China. However, uncertainties remain in the history and driving mechanisms of precipitation changes in this region over the past two millennia. We present an 1800 yr multiproxy reconstruction of monsoon precipitation based on hydroclimate variations inferred from Lake Nvshan sediments in the Jiang-Huai region of central eastern China. We find that rainfall in the Jiang-Huai region was higher during the Little Ice Age (LIA) than during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), and that these changes were modulated by the mean state of the tropical Pacific Ocean on centennial time scales. We infer that an El Niño–like (La Niña–like) mean state caused a strengthening and westward displacement (weakening and eastward displacement) of the Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) and a weakening (strengthening) of the EASM, causing more (less) rainfall in the Jiang-Huai region during the LIA (MWP). These hydroclimate changes are likely to have been a response to changes in effective radiative forcing.

江苏泗洪顺山集遗址是淮河中下游地区迄今为止发现年代最早的新石器时代遗址之一.本文对遗址三个不同文化时期连续剖面土壤堆积物中的植硅体进行分析,结果显示该遗址先民早在距今8 500年左右已经开始种植水稻,并一直延续到遗址三期(7 500 BP).植硅体组合分析结果表明,顺山集遗址所处时期的气候总体上较温暖湿润,但存在气候波动,从一期至三期大体上经历了温暖—偏凉—回暖的过程,可能对应了全新世高温期到来之前的气候转暖.从顺山集遗址水稻遗存的连续发现以及水稻驯化水平不断提高来看,气候变冷并未抑制当地稻作农业的发展,相反在一定程度上可能促进了其发展与扩散.本文研究结果对研究全新世早中期中国中东部气候变化背景下人类适应策略提供了重要的科学依据.

The archaeological sites of Shunshanji and Hanjing are recorded as the earliest Neolithic sites in the middle Huai river valley, China, which were occupied between 8,500 and 7,500 cal bp , and provide crucial evidence of rice growing. However, the water availability and management of arable land systems for rice cultivation and the main stages of rice processing at the two sites have not been studied before. In this paper, phytolith analyses are discussed in 66 samples from the Shunshanji site and 32 samples from the Hanjing site, with three phases of occupation at each. The ratios of sensitive to fixed forms in the phytolith assemblages over three phases reveal that in Phase I these ratios are relatively low, and they become significantly higher in Phases II and III at both sites. These results suggest that rice was grown probably only using natural water supplies in the lowlands during Phase I, but changed to growing on highly controlled and regularly flooded and drained wetlands in Phase II at the two sites. In addition, seen from the distribution and concentrations of phytoliths from rice, weeds and their by-products, as well as the proportions of each, both double peaked glume cells (DPG) and rice cuneiform bulliform cells (RCB) were found together with some rice paddy weed phytoliths. The concentrations of DPG were much higher than those of RCB in most samples from the Shunshanji and Hanjing sites over the three phases. The findings imply that rice ears together with the stems and leaves were probably stored after the harvest, then threshed and de-husked simultaneously, and the straw and chaff by-products were discarded together at the sites between 8,500 and 7,500 cal bp . The study in this paper aims towards a better understanding of past human behaviour and social organization in rice growing communities during the middle Neolithic in eastern China.

淮河中游地区位于中国中东部地理、气候、文化的过渡地带,同时也是新石器时代北方旱作农业与南方稻作农业分布的交错地带.现有植物考古资料表明,新石器时代晚期是淮河中游地区农业结构从单一的稻作农业转变为稻旱兼作农业的关键阶段.然而,新石器时代晚期淮河中游地区,尤其是淮干以南地区先民的植物资源利用情况,以及该地区农业结构何时发生转变等问题至今依然不清楚.本文利用淀粉粒分析方法,对安徽定远侯家寨遗址二期(6.2～5.6 kaBP)出土的22件陶器残片表面残留物进行了分析.结果 表明新石器时代晚期淮河中游淮干以南地区先民利用的植物性食物资源具有多样性,包括稻属(Oryza spp.)、小麦族(Trificeae)、薏苡属(Coix spp.)、粟(Setaria italica (L)P.Beauv.)、黍(Panicum miliaceum L.)、栎属(Quercus spp.)、莲属(Nelumbo spp.)以及块根块茎类植物等.稻属淀粉粒的发现证明,自新石器时代中期至新石器时代末期,淮河中游地区先民对水稻利用基本上是延续的.粟、黍淀粉粒是淮河中游淮干以南地区迄今为止已报道发现最早的早生农作物的证据,意味着早在6.2～5.6 kaBP期间,北方旱作农业文化与淮河中游淮干以南地区可能就存在着食物的交流与传播.该结果对于了解淮河中游地区新石器时代农业发展、演变历程以及中国中东部稻作、粟作农业传播的时空路线等问题具有重要的科学价值.