NDLI: The archaeobotanical significance of immature millet grains: an experimental case study of Chinese millet crop processing

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Song, Jixiang Zhao, Zhijun Fuller, Dorian Q.
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	We present evidence from ethnography and experimental processing of foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) in China that spikelets containing incompletely filled (or immature) grains constitute a significant portion of typical millet harvests and are removed along with other by-products after threshing and winnowing. This study provides a baseline for the identification of immature foxtail grains in archaeobotanical assemblages. Immature millet grains are a frequent component of archaeobotanical assemblages in Neolithic and Bronze Age China, and criteria for their recognition are presented based on our modern experimental result and illustrated with archaeobotanical examples from Shandong and Henan. It is seed morphology rather than size that plays a determinative role in the identification of foxtail millet. It is suggested that those grains with a narrow egg-shaped embryo, which is about 5/6 of the whole grain, and having a round shape can be classed as foxtail millet even though they are small, flat and squashed. While different grades of immaturity in millet grains might be defined, the interpretative potential of these appears to be negligible as all immature grains are concentrated in winnowing waste. This study confirms the suggestion that the ratio of immature to mature millet grains can be employed in archaeobotany in considering whether or not early stage crop processing (threshing and winnowing) contributed to the formation of particular archaeological millet assemblages.
Starting Page	141
Ending Page	152
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09396314
Journal	Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Volume Number	22
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	16176278
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2012-07-07
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Setaria italica Panicum miliaceum China Neolithic Identification criteria Experimental archaeology Paleontology Biogeosciences Climate Change Anthropology Archaeology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Plant Science Archeology (arts and humanities) Paleontology

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Experiments on the effects of charring on Setaria italica (foxtail millet)

Ethnobotany of millet cultivation in the north of the Iberian Peninsula

Morphometric distinction between bilobate phytoliths from Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica leaves

Experimental approaches to understanding variation in grain size in Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and its relevance for interpreting archaeobotanical assemblages

Millets across Eurasia: chronology and context of early records of the genera Panicum and Setaria from archaeological sites in the Old World

Late Neolithic agriculture in eastern Austria: archaeobotanical results from sites of the Baden and Jevišovice cultures (3600–2800 b.c.)

The occurrence and identification of Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet) grains from the Chengtoushan site (ca. 5800 cal B.P.) in central China, with reference to the domestication centre in Asia

Ancient DNA analysis of Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) from a Bronze Age cemetery in Xinjiang, China

Geometric morphometric analysis of Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet) and Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf. (browntop millet) and its implications for understanding the biogeography of small millets

The archaeobotanical significance of immature millet grains: an experimental case study of Chinese millet crop processing

Similar Documents

Experiments on the effects of charring on Setaria italica (foxtail millet)

Ethnobotany of millet cultivation in the north of the Iberian Peninsula

Morphometric distinction between bilobate phytoliths from Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica leaves

Experimental approaches to understanding variation in grain size in Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and its relevance for interpreting archaeobotanical assemblages

Millets across Eurasia: chronology and context of early records of the genera Panicum and Setaria from archaeological sites in the Old World

Late Neolithic agriculture in eastern Austria: archaeobotanical results from sites of the Baden and Jevišovice cultures (3600–2800 b.c.)

The occurrence and identification of Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet) grains from the Chengtoushan site (ca. 5800 cal B.P.) in central China, with reference to the domestication centre in Asia

Ancient DNA analysis of Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) from a Bronze Age cemetery in Xinjiang, China

Geometric morphometric analysis of Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet) and Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf. (browntop millet) and its implications for understanding the biogeography of small millets

The archaeobotanical significance of immature millet grains: an experimental case study of Chinese millet crop processing