Origins of the earliest farmers in Central China: a lithic perspective

Brief Introduction: The origins of early agricultural societies have been the subject of major interest for archaeologists over the past decades. China was one of the world’s oldest primary centres of independent agricultural development. The most thoroughly studied early agricultural societies in China are located along the Yangtze and Yellow River Valleys, which provide some of the oldest firm evidence for rice (Oryza sativa) and millet (Setaria italica and Panicum miliaceum) farming respectively. Notably, the upper catchment of Huai River, a transitional climatic zone between northern and southern China, also has some of the first significant occurrences of cultivated rice, domesticated animals, and ground stone tools (i.e., stone sickles and stone shovels) that have been linked to agricultural practices at the archae- ological site of Jiahu (9000 to 7500 BP), making this population the earliest farmers in Central China. One of the hypotheses is that the Jiahu people probably migrated from southern China along the coastline. This assumption is based on the evidence that sea levels have risen in Southeast China since around 20,000 years ago, thus humans who lived by the coast had to move to higher locations (e.g., Central China). This MSCA COFUND project explores whether it may possible to link the Neolithic farmers at the site of Jiahu in Central China and their potential places of origin through their stone toolkits, from the technological, typological, and functional perspectives.The project also aims to contribute to various dissemination, outreach, and communication activities.

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