Plant Food Utilization And Regional Differences Between Southern And Northern Anhui During The Period Of 7.0-5.0 Ka Bp

Plant food dominates in the human diets and revealing plant food composition in prehistoric period can provide us with information about the origin,development of agriculture and human adaptation to the environmental changes.Now,Huaihe River is the boundary of agriculture and climate between the southern and northern area in eastern China.However,this boundry line might have moved northward or southward for many times in the Holocene because of the climate changes.Anhui,located in this transitional zone,is separated into two regions by Jianghuai watershed.Influenced by difference archaeological cultures and climates,these two regions are the important area for the research of human adaptation and environmental change.Prehistoric agriculture in China developed very fast during the period of 7000-5000 a BP,paleoethnobotanic research in these areas are helpful to reveal the plant food composition in different living conditions.In this paper,samples from Shuangdun(7300-6800 cal BP),Houjiazhai(6200-5600 cal BP)in northern Anhui and Miudun(7010-6840 cal BP),Lingjiatan(5600-5300 cal BP)in southern Anhui are selected for starch analysis,including potteries,stone tools and dental calculus.Experimental results show that plant food resource exploited by Shuangdun people contains Oryza,Triticeae,Paniceae,Coix,Nelumbo and tribe Phaseoleae.Starch grains from Oryza,Triticeae,Coix,Paniceae,Nelumbo and Quercus were found in Houjiazhai upper layer.In Miudun site,Oryza,Triticeae,Nelumbo,Coix,Quercus,tribe Phaseoleae and Euryale ferox were found.And in Lingjiatan,starches from Oryza,Typha orientalis,Triticeae,Coix,Nelumbo,Pueraria,Quercus and tribe Phaseoleae were recovered.Our results show a similar starchy plant food composition in these two regions,where has both developed rice farming and the predominate starch grains are from Oryza,Nelumbo,Triticeae and Coix.Notably,the exploitation for Nelumbo plant is common especially in southern Anhui.Combined with relevant cultural and environmental researches carried out in northern and southern Anhui,this paper views that warm and humid climates during Holocene Megathermal in Anhui influenced people’s plant food utilization obviously and led to the similar starchy plant food composition,the utilization level of Oryza in Miudun site might have been influenced by Majiabang culture.This paper preliminary reveals the starchy plant food composition in northern and southern Anhui and provides meaningful evidences for the researches of human adaptation with their environments.