Ancient Plant Utilization in Southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia, 7000 BCE through 700 CE

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of micro-remain studies in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia from 9000 to 1300 years ago. This research is divided into three main phases:

The first phase (7000-2500 BCE) includes the results from three hunter-gatherer sites, Huiyaotian (7030-6315 BCE) and Liyupo (5667-4741 BCE) from Guangxi Province, and Cai Beo (Cai Beo phase, 5000-3000 BCE) from northeastern Vietnam. The results show the ancient hunter-gatherers in southern China and northern Vietnam relied on a broad spectrum of plant resources, including various types of geophytes, acorns, grasses, palms, and so on, among which edible aroids (Araceae) and yams (Dioscorea) may have been major food plants since at least nine thousand years ago. This study provides concrete evidence to support the hypothesis that southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia were the earliest centres of exploiting wild taro. Combined with the newest genetic study of taro by other scholars, the prevalence of grinding stone tools related to taro processing, and the intensification of the exploitation of taro and yams as revealed in this study, we propose that southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia are highly likely to have been early cultivation centres of taro. This study further explains the continuous expansion of hunter-gatherer communities in this region was partially based on the extensive consumption of taro and yams.

The second phase (2500-1000 BCE) includes the results from Cai Beo (Ha Long phase, 2500-1000 BCE) and three other Neolithic sites (Bai Ben, Bai Cat Don, Trang Kenh) that dated from 2000-1000 BCE in northeastern Vietnam. The archaeobotanical evidence suggests this period was a transition node of subsistence strategies with the introduction of rice and millet. This finding supports the notion that the introduction and adoption of rice and millet cultivation in Northern Vietnam were associated with the arrival of East Asian farmers after 2500 BCE. Both the coastlines along the South China Sea and inland river valleys may serve as dispersal passages. However, the expansion of East Asian populations did not lead to the extinction of hunter-gatherers. The descendants of indigenous hunter-gatherers, the Ha Long people, continued to rely on aroids, yams, and acorns. The Trang Kenh people, considered to be the first farmers in northern Vietnam, mainly relied on rice and millet agriculture. These two cultural groups also had cultural contacts with each other, and they further kept cultural exchanges with other regions, indicating the complex and interconnected cultural niches in northern Vietnam.

The third phase (1-700 CE) includes the results from Oc Eo, which was an ancient entrepot of the Funan kingdom in the early centuries CE. A rich number of spices, crops and economic plants were discovered from a series of grinding and pounding stone tools. These stone tools showed high similarity with Indian grinders and appeared in Southeast Asia in the first centuries CE after cultural contacts between South Asia and Southeast Asia intensified. This study verifies that their function was mainly for processing spices and possibly for making curry. The ancient curry recipe in Oc Eo includes indigenous spices (e.g., turmeric, ginger, galangal, sand ginger, fingerroot) and exotic spices (e.g., nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon). Considering multiple lines of evidence, particularly the newly discovered spices from this study and their association with Indian-style preparation tools, we may conclude that curry recipes arrived in Southeast Asia with South Asian traders and migrants. This study sheds light on the influence of South Asian cultures on the formation of early Southeast Asian cuisines, with a focus on the significant role of ancient Oc Eo within the global maritime trade networks. Show more