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Yu T, Yang Q, Deng M, Cheng N, Yao K, Yang W, Ji X, Zheng H. Morphological characteristics of seed starch granules of Fagaceae in South China and their implication in paleodiet. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:977152. [PMID: 36452090 PMCID: PMC9702991 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.977152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nut fruits likely played a significant role before and during the origin of agriculture; however, relatively little research conducted on the morphological characteristics and statistical comparisons of nut fruit starch granule hinders the progress of paleodietary analysis of prehistorical society. For better species identification of starch granule remaining on tools discovered at archaeological sites, it is desirable to develop a more abundant morphology database of modern nut fruit starch granules as well as the establishment of relevant identification standards. Therefore, nuts from 40 species in four genera (Quercus, Lithocarpus, Castanea, and Castanopsis) of Fagaceae were collected from South China for statistical measurement and comparative analysis. Starch granules are highly accumulated in 34 species except for 6 species, whose shapes involve oval, subcircular, drop-shaped, rounded triangle, polygonal, spherical caps, and bell-shaped types, or a combination of several types, and the average length is between 10 and 20 μm. According to research on Quercus phylogeny relationships, it was found that the species in the same infragenious section produce similar morphological characteristics of starch granules. The result was applied in the identification of starch granules extracted from stone tools from the 20 to 10 ka cultural layer of Xiaodong Rockshelter, and some starch granules can be recognized to species level, revealing that nuts from Quercus and Lithocarpus were gathered and exploited by ancient people. This expansion of modern starch presentation and comparison of nuts helps to improve the accuracy of the identification of ancient starch and deepen the understanding of plant utilization of ancient humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Yu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Digital Human Technology R&D and Application of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, School of History and Archival Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Qing Yang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Key Laboratory of Digital Human Technology R&D and Application of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, School of History and Archival Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Min Deng
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Nan Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Digital Human Technology R&D and Application of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, School of History and Archival Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Kaiping Yao
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Wanshu Yang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Xueping Ji
- Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Natural History Museum, Kunming, China
| | - Hongbo Zheng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Bribane, QLD, Australia
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Ge Y, Jin Y, Zhang X. Phytolith Production and Morphotypes in Modern Plants on the Tibetan Plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:950322. [PMID: 35898215 PMCID: PMC9310031 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.950322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Tibetan Plateau is the "third pole" of Earth and significantly influences the world's ecosystems. However, limited work on phytolith analysis has been done due to its harsh environment, and no study on phytolith production and morphotypes in modern plants on the Tibetan Plateau has been carried out yet. In this study, we investigated 73 modern plant samples collected on the Tibetan Plateau to study phytolith production and morphology. The results showed that the major phytolith producers are Poaceae and Cyperaceae plants, the production of phytolith is higher than 0.4 million grains/g in most samples. We found one new morphotype, BILOBATE SADDLE, which could be the diagnostic type for Tribe Stipeae and phytoliths morphotypes might indicate different hydrological conditions on the Tibetan Plateau. Our findings add new information about phytoliths on the Tibetan Plateau and will aid the future phytolith analysis in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Ge
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yingshuai Jin
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoling Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Discovery of the Earliest Rice Paddy in the Mixed Rice–Millet Farming Area of China. LAND 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/land11060831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Neolithic rice remains were recovered from a mixed rice–millet farming area in China outside the original centers of rice farming. Whether the rice remains were the result of local cultivation or obtained through trade remains unclear. Rice paddy fields are direct evidence of local cultivation. In this study, phytolith samples from the Zhangwangzhuang site were analyzed. The discriminant function distinguished 17 of 30 samples in the suspected paddy field area as rice paddy fields with an average probability of 74%; The proportion of rice bulliform phytoliths with ≥9 scales indicated that rice (Oryza sativa) was still being domesticated and, moreover, six η-type phytoliths from broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) were identified. These results suggested that the suspected paddy field at Zhangwangzhuang might be the earliest rice paddy field (ca. 6000 cal. BP) in northern China and that mixed farming was practiced here since the early Yangshao period. This study adopted discriminant analysis methods to discover ancient rice paddy fields, observed rice paddy fields outside the core rice origin area, and provided the earliest evidence regarding the development of mixed rice–millet farming in the upper Huai River region.
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