MicroCT analysis reveals insights into the beginning of rice domestication in the Lower Yangtze during the 10th millennium BP

Abstract

The Lower Yangtze valley is widely recognized as the earliest center of rice agriculture. The process of rice domestication, based on the morphology of spikelet bases, has been traced between 9000 and 5000 BP. However, the domestication status of rice before 9000 BP remains a subject of debate due to the near absence of macrobotanical remains in the region. This research aims to address this gap by investigating rice impressions and inclusions found in ceramic sherds from Shangshan site, the earliest Neolithic site in the Lower Yangtze valley. Utilizing microCT analysis, this study examined 184 impressions of Oryza sp. spikelet bases from ceramics sherds, generating the most extensive database of rice remains dating to the early Shangshan phase. The results offer valuable insights into the early onset of rice domestication in the Lower Yangtze during the 10th millennium BP. This study represents a pioneering use of microCT analysis of ceramic sherds with early plant impressions.