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.

Plant food exploitation has long been considered one of the most significant windows to understanding the process of sedentism. Two early Neolithic sites, Yumin (ca. 8,400-7,600 cal BP) and Simagou (ca. 7,500-7,000 cal BP), witnessed the earliest onset of a sedentary lifeway in the southern Mongolian Plateau (today’s south-central Inner Mongolia) of north China. The results from residue (starch and phytolith) and usewear analyses on grinding stones from these two sites yield evidence of processing and consuming Panicoideae (millet, Job’s tears), Triticeae, and multiple types of tubers, indicating a broad-spectrum subsistence practice in this region. Additionally, this study documents the earliest time phase of millet consumption during the transition to sedentism in the southern Mongolian Plateau.

Fiber products, including cordage and textiles, were essential to daily life and played a crucial role in early urbanization. However, their poor preservation in archaeological contexts has limited our full-fledged understanding of the fibrous plants exploited and the technologies employed. This study applies usewear analysis and fiber residue analysis, including transmitted polarized light microscopy and the modified Herzog test, to stone tools, spindle whorls, human remains and textile fragments from Shimao. The results reveal, for the first time, the production and consumption of plant bast fibers in this early city on the north Loess Plateau. Our analysis identifies bast fiber remains possibly coming from hemp (Cannabis sativa), Chinese jute (Abutilon theophrasti), flax (Linum spp.), and/or ramie (Boehmeria nivea), illuminating fiber processing techniques of the time. In addition, stone tools analyzed from Hanjiagedan, a residential area within Shimao, indicate multiple stages of bast fiber production, including harvesting, pounding, probably after retting, scraping, spinning and weaving, demonstrating cordage and textile specialization. Although local plant resources appear to have been the primary source of fibers, some fiber products may have come from outside the Shimao region. Evidence from Huangchengtai and Hanjiagedan, including bone needles and spindle whorls, further suggests that Shimao was a major center of socio-economic activities on the Loess Plateau during the process of urbanization.

Fiber technology-including the making of cordages, mats, baskets, and textiles-holds a crucial place in human history. However, uncovering archaeological evidence of early fiber products proves challenging due to their rapid decay. To address preservation hurdles, we employ a multi-disciplinary approach to interpret microfiber remains, drawing on microfossil remains, usewear traces, ethnographic observation, and experimental archaeology, to study artifacts from two Upper Paleolithic Shizitan (SZT) site localities on the North China Loess Plateau, dating 28,000-18,000 cal BP, encompassing the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), on which we identify microremains of hemp and flax. Analyses of microfossil remains (microfibers, phytoliths, and fungi) and usewear traces on stone tools potentially reveal stages of bast fiber production, such as cutting stalks, retting, pounding fiber ribbons, and scraping to remove impurities. Such pounding and scraping are commonly associated with textile production in ethnographic accounts, and parallel evidence has also been observed on Neolithic stone tools in North China. Observations of colored fibers suggest SZT people may have extracted plant-based dyes and hematite pigment to color fibers. The cold-dry conditions of the LGM, which likely led to the depopulation of regions north of SZT, also may have driven increased fiber production, aligning with previously recognized shifts toward microblade production, broader interregional interactions, ritual activities, and broad-spectrum subsistence, including early wild millet use. This research provides new evidence for the deep history of fiber production in Upper Paleolithic China and demonstrates the value of usewear and microfossil analyses for studying ancient fiber technology.

Archaeological research in China has shown that the origin and dispersal of alcohol-related technologies were closely associated with Neolithization in the Yellow and Yangzi River regions. However, comparable evidence from the southeastern coast remains limited, constraining our understanding of how fermentation practices spread across coastal zones. This study presents microfossil residue analyses of pottery vessels from the Xiying shell midden site, the earliest known Neolithic settlement on Pingtan Island, Fujian. The results reveal the exploitation of diverse starchy plants, including rice, millet, Triticeae, foxnut, taro, yam, and ginger. Combined evidence from starch morphology, enzymatic damage patterns, and associated fungal remains—particularly Monascus and yeast—suggests the production of fermented alcoholic beverages. These were likely produced using a qu-based fermentation method centered on rice, with additional inputs from millet, seeds, and tubers. This study provides the earliest evidence for fermented beverages in South China and suggests that fermentation practices formed part of a broader coastal subsistence system. The presence of a rice-millet-based brewing tradition suggests that such technologies may have reached Pingtan through maritime interaction networks along China's eastern seaboard by ca. 7000 BP.

Microbes have played a crucial role in food and beverage production throughout both ancient and modern societies. In particular, various types of qu (() starters, containing diverse microbial communities, have been widely utilized in alcohol production across East Asia. Recent microfossil analyses of pottery vessels from ancient China have revealed the presence of different fungal species in residue samples from pottery vessels, dating back to as early as approximately 10,000 years ago. However, a systematic investigation into the morphology of microbes, particularly molds and yeasts, and their interactions with starch granules in starters and starter-based alcohol production remains lacking. In this study, we conducted modern experiments on culturing different types of starters and starter-based alcoholic beverages traditionally used in households and commercial alcohol production in contemporary East Asia. Using polarized light microscopy, we examine the morphological characteristics of various starch granules, molds and yeasts and develop a three-step identification of alcoholic beverage remains in archaeological samples.

As a major political center in Bronze Age China, Zhouyuan witnessed profound sociopolitical change and population reorganization in the Western Zhou period (1046-771 BCE), including the incorporation of Shang-affiliated communities. This study investigates the relationship between diet, gender, social status, and political affiliation through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope (delta 13C, delta 15N) analysis of human and faunal remains. The isotopic evidence reveals a millet-based dietary system, supplemented by varied animal management strategies. Human diets were predominantly C4-based, but access to protein differed dramatically. Social rank and sociopolitical affiliation (Shang vs. Zhou) produced structurally distinct dietary patterns, while gendered dietary differences were not significant. Isotopic groupings correspond closely with distinctions inferred from burial and material culture, showing that diet both reflected and reinforced social differentiation. These findings provide evidence for the interplay between diet, identity, and sociopolitical structure, offering new insights into food-ways and social dynamics in early China.

The third millennium BC marked a major sociopolitical transition in Neolithic North China, characterized by increased social differentiation and intensified interregional interactions. This study presents the microfossil analysis of pottery residues from the late Longshan walled site of Pingliangtai in eastern Henan (ca. 2300-2000 cal. BC). The results show that most vessels were associated with the production, preparation and/or consumption of fermented alcoholic beverages. Starch, phytolith, and fungal evidence indicates the use of diverse plant ingredients-including millet, wheat, rice, Job's tears, and various tubers-and demonstrates the parallel application of malt-based saccharification and qu-based fermentation involving molds such as Monascus, Aspergillus, and Rhizopus/Mucor. The vessel assemblage reflects an integrated sequence of alcohol-related practices, from fermentation to serving and drinking. While fermentation technologies show continuity with earlier Yangshao traditions, the increasing use of specialized vessels facilitated more individualized and performative drinking practices. These changes suggest the selective adoption of external cultural elements within existing traditions. We argue that alcohol-related practices at Pingliangtai played an active role in structuring social interaction. Through repeated acts of feasting-within which serving and display were integral practices-alcohol became a key medium for expressing social distinction and negotiating relationships, contributing to the development of social complexity in the Central Plains during the Longshan period.

Our preliminary studies indicated that KX-01 inhibits tubulin polymerization in a reversible and concentration-dependent manner, resulting in dramatically low toxicity across various solid and liquid tumor types. However, KX-01 has not yet been approved as an anticancer agent due to its insufficient efficacy, and research on its derivatives remains limited. To improve its antitumor activity and investigate the structure-activity relationships (SARs), sixty-seven KX-01 analogs were designed and synthesized based on the KX-01-tubulin cocrystal structure. Among them, compound 8h exhibited the most potent antiproliferative activity, with IC50 values of 3.5 ± 0.6, 2.4 ± 0.2, 15.7 ± 3.1, 22.1 ± 1.9, and 7.3 ± 1.1 nM against HCT116, HeLa, A2780S, A2780T, and HT29 cells, respectively, indicating its potential to overcome multidrug resistance. Replacing the endocyclic nitrogen atom in the pyridine ring of KX-01 with an exocyclic fluorine atom directly results in the loss of Src inhibitory activity. The cocrystal of 8h-tubulin complex revealed that it simultaneously occupies the colchicine site in β-tubulin and a cavity in α-tubulin. In the HT29 xenograft model, orally administered 8h (5 mg/kg, once daily) showed marginally superior in vivo antitumor efficacy than KX-01.

Water buffaloes (Bubalus spp.), currently confined to South and Southeast Asia, were once widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene. While multiple fossil species have been morphologically defined, their phylogenetic relationships remained unclear due to the absence of molecular evidence. This study obtained 32 mitochondrial genomes of Bubalus mephistopheles, the hypothesized wild progenitor of domestic water buffaloes that persisted in temperate Eurasia until the Holocene, and B. wangsjoki, a presumed cold-adapted Late Pleistocene species from Northeast Asia. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that these morphologically and spatiotemporally distinct animals are actually conspecific with high phenotypic and ecological plasticity. This extinct lineage was a sister taxon with Indonesian anoas, despite their disjunct geographical distributions, rather than linking directly to domestic water buffaloes. Our findings demonstrate that the widespread species survived Pleistocene climatic oscillations before a mid-Holocene extinction, potentially driven by intensified human activities. This study provides insights into water buffalo evolution, and highlights the importance of palaeogenomic data for accurately classifying extinct species.

This study investigates a rare case of liquid alcohol preserved in a glazed ceramic vase from the tomb of Li Jurou (AD 1226), Jin dynasty, Xi’an, China, to provide new insights into medieval brewing traditions. We employed a multi-proxy approach combining microfossil and isotopic analysis, experimental brewing with sorghum, and incorporated previously published proteomic data to illuminate its origin. Microfossil analysis revealed yeast cells and starch granules with damage patterns diagnostic of enzymatic saccharification and mashing, indicating the use of malted sorghum and wheat, alongside cooked rice and foxnut. The starch damage features observed in the archaeological sample are consistent with patterns documented in experimental beer brewing with sorghum and wheat/barley. Stable isotope analysis yielded a δ13C value of –18.5‰, consistent with mixed C3 and C4 inputs. Two-component isotopic modeling revealed that C4 plant (likely sorghum) contributed 40–50% of the ingredients, with C3 plants such as wheat, rice, and foxnut making up the remainder. These findings align with proteomic results identifying sorghum proteins in the liquid. The combined evidence distinguishes this beverage from qu-based fermentation and links it instead to li-type brewing, rooted in malted cereals and associated with ritual practices. This represents the earliest direct archaeological evidence of sorghum beer in China, highlighting both technological innovation and cultural adaptation in historical alcohol production.

Coix lacryma-jobi L. (Job's tears, adlay, yiyi (sic)(sic)in Chinese) is a tropical member of the Poaceae family which is widely grown in southeast Asia for its grain, as medicine and for beads. However, archaeobotanical evidence of Coix from macrofossils or phytoliths remains limited, and the varieties used in ancient China have yet to be identified through research. In this study, the remains of involucral bracts of Coix from two Han Dynasty tombs (2004CSX Tomb M110 and RNSM Tomb M1, dated to around 2,100 cal bp) in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, were examined. Macrobotanical analysis suggested they were C. lacryma-jobi, and phytolith analysis further confirmed their identification as C. lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi. This is the first report to successfully identify ancient remains of this plant to variety level from phytoliths. The findings provide new insight into the cultural significance of Coix in Han Dynasty funerary customs and demonstrate the potential of phytolith analysis for the identification of taxa from archaeological contexts to variety.

Recent research has highlighted the widespread presence and use of cereal-based fermented beverages in Neolithic China. However, studies focusing on early Bronze Age cultures remain limited. To address this gap, the current study employs residue analysis of 42 pottery vessels in four tombs excavated from a Bronze Age cemetery at the Mogou site in northwestern China, dating to the second millennium BC. The results of microfossil analysis-including starch granules, phytoliths, and fungi-indicate that the people of Mogou utilized a diverse range of plant resources in their diet, including millets, Job's tears, wheat/barley, rice, buckwheat, and lilies. The Mogou people brewed alcoholic beverages using the qu method, preparing the fermentation starter mainly with rice and Monascus mold. This qu-based beverage, made from a variety of cereals, played a significant role in their mortuary practices. The findings suggest that the tradition of using cereal-based ritual alcohol, which originated in Neolithic eastern China and spread westward to northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, persisted into the Bronze Age at Mogou, spanning the Qijia through Siwa cultures.

Fiber technology, crucial to human societies for millennia, encompasses cordage and textiles. The development of fiber crops and the production of fiber-based clothing are significant components of the Neolithic Revolution. Despite China being an independent center for agriculture, the role of fiber technology in this context remains largely unexplored. In this project, we employed a comprehensive approach that combines microfossil analysis and use-wear examinations to study tools from the Peiligang site in North China. This site uniquely spans the Upper Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods, offering an ideal setting for investigating the evolution of fiber production. Our results reveal that some Paleolithic blades and scrapers were associated with fiber production, which coincided with ostrich eggshell beads and hematite during the cold and dry Last Glacial Maximum period. Responding to climatic fluctuations, fiber production played a significant role in subsistence and ritual activities. In the early Neolithic, advanced fiber production is evident. Two adjacent burials yield tools and microfossil remains representing a toolkit for fiber and possible textile production, including harvesting, retting, pounding, scraping, and sewing. Fibers recovered from human bones provide potential evidence of textile production and use. Dyeing with blue, black, and red colorants was common for textiles, cordages, and strings. These grave goods suggest the involvement of the deceased in craft production with bast fibers, possibly embodying the earliest specialization in fiber craft 8000 years ago in Neolithic China.

China has a 9000-year-long history of cereal-based alcohol production, with the use of molds (filamentous fungi) likely being one of the earliest fermentation techniques. This method later developed into the uniquely East Asian qu (koji) starter compound, containing grains, molds, yeasts, and bacteria. Recent studies have revealed that this method was already widely applied during the Neolithic period. However, much less is known about its development during the early dynastic times, and our knowledge of this innovation has mainly relied on textual materials. Here, we present direct evidence, based on microbotanical, microbial, and chemical analyses, for the fermentation method of a 2300-year-old liquid preserved in a sealed bronze bottle unearthed in a Qin tomb at Yancun, Shaanxi. The results of this research suggest that this liquid is likely a fermented beverage made from wheat/barley, rice, Job’s tears, broomcorn millet, and pulses. The fermentation starter may have been a cereal-based qu, consisting of a wide range of microorganisms, including molds (Aspergillus and Monascus), yeasts, and bacteria. Our findings suggest that the tradition of selecting suitable grains and microbial communities for brewing alcohol, possibly with a maiqu starter (primarily wheat/barley-based qu), may have been well established more than two thousand years ago.

Migration is a frequent phenomenon in human history. Previous studies mainly used migration as a simple process to account for any cultural changes observed in migrant communities. Recent studies, however, have recognized that migration is embedded in both environmental and social contexts, thus making it necessary to study the consequence of migration on a case-by-case basis. To better understand the changes associated with migrational processes, this case study investigates the subsistence pattern of a Neolithic site (5300-4700 cal. BP), Liujiazhai, in Northwestern Sichuan Highland by employing microbotanical residue analysis on pottery vessels. Our results on millet phytolith contribute to the overall picture of millet agriculture in Yangshao and Majiayao migrant communities and enrich our understanding of how varying crop patterns in Neolithic western China are likely a consequence of migration. In addition, we suggest that Liujiazhai migrants adapted to the high-altitude environment by utilizing more local wild plant resources. This study shows that, although Yangshao migrants were still connected to their homeland in terms of material culture, relocating to the challenging environment in NW Sichuan requires adaptive strategies that diverged the Yangshao migrants, including Liujiazhai, from their home culture. Hence, this study exemplifies how migration is an agent of change.

Examination of plant microfossils (phytoliths and starch granules) preserved in dental calculus allows for the direct identification of some components of prehistoric diets. In this article, the authors present the results of microfossil analysis of dental calculus from wild and domestic animals at the Late Neolithic site of Kangjia in the Central Plains, an area critical in the emergence of early Chinese states. Consumption of cooked plant foods by domestic pigs and dogs, and of domestic crops by wild animals, at this site hints, the authors argue, at an interdependent relationship between animal management, agricultural production and ritual practices that contributed to the political transformations of Late Neolithic China.

A type of black foodcrust was found adhering to several pottery fu pots from the early stratum of the Hemudu archaeological site (c. 7000-6500 cal. BP), China. These residues have long been described as cooked rice crusts, but specific analysis has been lacking. To clarify the nature of these crusts and explore potential clues to ancient diets, we conducted botanical and chemical analyses on one sample. Various starch granules and a phytolith particle were recovered, including those from rice (Oryza sp.), Triticeae tribe, oak acorn (Quercus sp.), Papilionoideae beans, and lily bulbs (Lilium sp.). SEM examination confirmed the presence of rice. FTIR and GC-MS tests revealed lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Stable isotope analysis indicated C3 plant dominance with minor animal components. Radiocarbon dating revealed a freshwater reservoir effect, suggesting aquatic ingredients. GC-MS and GC-c-IRMS measurements provided information on rice cooking and multiple terrestrial and aquatic animal sources. These comprehensive analyses prove that the Hemudu fu pot crusts were foodderived but not purely rice. The findings reveal the diversity of food resources utilized by the Hemudu people, reflecting a subsistence strategy that combined low-level food production and foraging in early sedentary settlements. They also provide new evidence for the fu pot's cooking function.

The origins of rice domestication and the beginnings of alcoholic fermentation in China are intriguing research topics, with the Shangshan culture in the Lower Yangzi River region being a focal point of archaeological investigations. This study employs a multiproxy approach (phytolith, starch, and fungi) to analyze microfossil remains associated with pottery vessels from the earliest phase of the Shangshan site (ca. 10,000 to 9,000 cal. BP). The results indicate that rice was consumed as a dietary staple and used for brewing fermented beverages with a qu starter containing Monascus mold and yeast as fermentation agents. The fermentation ingredients included rice, supplemented with other cereals (Job’s tears, Panicoideae, and Triticeae), acorn, and lily. This rice-fungi-based multiplant brewing method marked the earliest-known alcoholic fermentation technique in East Asia. The emergence of this fermentation technology is attributable to the early development of rice domestication and the arrival of the wet-warm Holocene climate, which was favorable for fungal growth. These alcoholic beverages likely played a pivotal role in ceremonial feasting, highlighting their ritual function as a driving factor that may have stimulated the intensive utilization and widespread cultivation of rice in Neolithic China.