Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Tara Heales
For this assignment, I am exploring the different theories of rice cultivation and where it
possibly came from. The cultivation of rice is thought to have originated in Asia as a result of the
wet lands that were present there at the time we start seeing rice appear. In this paper, I will be
looking at the different possible places within Asia that rice most likely originated. One of the
most widely accepted theories is that the cultivation of rice first began in the Middle or Lower
Yangtze valley. Another assumption is that rice originated in India. In order to determine which
of these ideas is most likely true, researchers looked at the genetic composition, and other
factors, of rice and compare it to the surrounding areas in which it was found during that time
period.
The first question I would like to address is concerning the theory of rice cultivation
originating in the Middle or Lower Yangtze valley; why is this theory so widely accepted in the
archaeological community? In order to answer this question, I briefly looked into the Rice
Archaeological Database (yes, apparently thats a real thing). This database includes 400
[archaeological] sites from mainland East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The database is
used to compare several models for the geographical origins of rice cultivation and infer the most
likely region(s) of its origin (Silva, Stevens, Weisskopf, Castillo, Qin, Bevan, and Fuller
2015). According to the databased and the affiliated methods that were being used (including
genetic analysis, location, linguistics, use of rice in art, and distance from other areas that also
cultivated rice), they concluded that rice cultivation originated in the Yangtze valley. The authors
stated that there was no definitive evidence that favored one area (Middle or Lower) over the
other in regards to the origin of rice cultivation; the evidence was equivalent between the two
3.
areas (Silva, Stevens, Weisskopf, Castillo, Qin, Bevan, and Fuller 2015). Could they possibly
have originated in multiple places at the same time? Many archaeologists believe that to be the
case.
Shifting our focus away from the Yangtze regions, researchers also find evidence of early
rice cultivation in India. India is home to many different varieties of rice, which gives researchers
a lot of information. For example, we can look at the genetic differences in each type of rice and
compare them to the genetic composition of rice found in other area. We can also look at the
phenotypic differences between them and make educated assumptions about why those
phenotypic variations are present and how they could have been beneficial to other areas where
rice cultivation is found. Evidence for the origin of rice cultivation in India focuses heavily on
the genetic makeup of the different types of rice. As a result of there being many different
varieties of rice, it allows for a lot of potential variations concerning the possibility for rice to
grow in different areas. So did rice originate in India? Evidence shows that short grain rice has a
particular niche area that is located in India, giving very easy growth opportunities for rice. Also,
when we look at the genetic evidence and compare it to that in other areas, we see many
similarities. (Roy, Rao, Jena, Samal, Patnaik, Patnaik, Jambhulkar, Sharma, and Mohapatra
2016).
In conclusion, Asia seems to be the origin of rice cultivation. Personally, the theory that
rice originated in the Yangtze regions makes more sense to me, but I can also see the relevance of
the theory that states it began in India; both sides make valid arguments. Researchers and
scientists dont know for sure where rice cultivation originally began but there is an
References
Silva, Fabio, Stevens, Chris J., Weisskopf, Alison, Castillo, Cristina, Qin, Ling, Bevan, Andrew,
Modelling the Geographical Origin of Rice Cultivation in Asia Using the Rice
Roy, Pritesh Sundar, Rao, Gundimeda Jwala Narasimh, Jena, Sudipta, Samal, Rashmita, Patnaik,
Ashok, Patnaik, Sasank Sekhar Chyau, Jambhulkar, Nitiprasad Namdeorao, Sharma, Srigopal,
Nuclear and Chloroplast DNA Variation Provides Insights into Population Structure and
PLoSONE11(9): e0162268.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162268