Glutinous rice mortar is a traditional lime-based building material which was first used in China during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 CE) according to ancient Chinese documents. The Tieguai Tomb, dating back to the late Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 CE) in Nanling, Southern China, was built by using mortar for its tomb chamber, making it the earliest mortar tomb found in China to date. In this study, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thin-section petrography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and starch grain analyses were conducted to comprehensively investigate the manufacturing techniques of the mortar from the Tieguai tomb. The results show that the mortar is a type of organic-inorganic mixed material made of glutinous rice pulp, lime, clay, and fine sand. This finding indicates that glutinous rice mortar had already been used as a building material as early as the late Northern Song Dynasty, which is the earliest use record for this material in China. This study also provides direct scientific evidence for exploring the origin of glutinous rice mortar and is of great importance for reconstructing the history of Chinese traditional building materials and architectural techniques.

The Zhengluo region in central China is the core area for the start of the process from which Chinese civilization emerged during the late Yangshao Culture (LYS, ca. 5.5–5.0 ka bp ) and the early Longshan Culture period (ELS, ca. 5.0–4.5 ka bp ). During this time, agriculture must have played a major role by providing stable food resources. However, information on the farming methods during this period is rare, especially from large settlement sites. This paper discusses the study of 77 soil samples from Shuanghuaishu (ca. 5,290–4,527 bp ), the largest settlement site of the LYS to ELS period ever discovered in the middle catchment of the Huang He (Yellow River). Abundant phytoliths from Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and Setaria italica (foxtail millet) were found, together with a small amount from Oryza sativa (rice), indicating that millets were more important than rice at Shuanghuaishu. Further statistical analysis reveals varying amounts of rice throughout the period of site occupation, which may be due to the local gradual climate change from warm to cold and dry, as well as the change of the nature and size of the site. Combining previous studies, it is also proposed that farming was based on a range of several crops starting in the LYS period. The development of agriculture, consistently dominated by millets in the Zhengluo area, could have provided stable food resources for the local population and thus made possible increasing social complexity and the development of civilization. This study provides the latest archaeobotanical data from the largest settlement site in the area, contributing to a further exploration of the relationship between the development of agriculture and of civilization in central China.

The southwestern Huanghuai Plain, located in the transitional climate zone between southern and northern China, was characterized by a unique rice-millet mixed farming pattern during the Neolithic period, which laid a solid economic foundation for the origin of civilization in Central China. However, the specific formation time and evolution of mixed farming in this area are still unclear. In this study, phytolith analysis was conducted on 31 sediment samples from Zhangwangzhuang, a site that has been dated back to the early and middle Yangshao cultural periods (ca. 6.3-5.6 ka BP) in the research area. The results indicate that the mixed farming of rice and millets appeared at Zhangwangzhuang since the early Yangshao period (EYS), approximately 6.3 ka BP. Further quantitative analysis of the phytolith data shows that broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and rice (Oryza sativa) were abundant at Zhangwangzhuang. Notably, the proportion of rice declined greatly in the second phase and afterward increased continuously from the third to the fourth phases, which was much higher than that of nearby contemporary sites and might be attributed to the abundant water resources around Zhangwangzhuang. Combined with the existing archaeobotanical data, this paper argues that the emergence of millet cultivation during the early Yangshao cultural period in the research region could be caused by the southward spread of the Yangshao culture. On the other hand, millets became more widely cultivated in the southwestern Huanghuai Plain since 6.0 ka BP, which could have been caused by climate change, from warmth and humidity to coolness and drought. The paper thus provides important information regarding the formation and developing process of rice-millet mixed farming in the southwestern Huanghuai Plain, contributing to a better understanding of the subsistence strategy adopted by the local people when facing climate change in the north-south transitional zone of China.

The Huanghuai Plain is located in a transitional climate zone between the Yangtze River and Yellow River valleys in Central China, where mixed farming of millets and rice appeared 8,000 years ago. However, when this specific agricultural model became the primary subsistence strategy and how the crop structure developed in this area have not been confirmed, largely due to the lack of sufficient archaeobotanical evidence and accurate chronological data. In this study, accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon dating and identification of the plant remains have been conducted at the Neolithic site of Shigu. The results indicate that mixed farming of millets and rice was practised at Shigu during the Yangshao Culture period (ca. 6400–5300 a BP), during which broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dominated. This finding is different from the earlier Peiligang Culture sites (9,000–7,000 BP) in the same research region, where wild editable plants were more abundant. Although the crop structure at Shigu changed around 6,000 years ago, with a noticeable decrease in rice cultivation, millets and rice were always the primary plant foods for the local population. The present study thus proposes the formation of a crop-based agricultural society at least 6400 years ago at Shigu in the western Huanghuai Plain of Central China.

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.