Abstract:

Eastern Henan area is a core area for prehistoric cultural exchange and integration between the Central Plains and Shandong Peninsula throughout the Neolithic. Due to the lack of archaeobotanical data, it is still not clear for the development progress of prehistoric agricultural in Eastern Henan area. Flotation analysis was conducted on soil samples collected from Jiazhuang and Hougaolaojia site belong to mid-Yangshao era in Xiangcheng city, Henan province. Lots of charred plant remains were recovered. Qualitative analysis indicated that agricultural crops included foxtail millet, broomcorn millet and rice, wild grass seeds included Setaria, Digitaria, Echinochloa, Panicum, Panicoideae, Eleusine indica, Poaceae, Leguminosae, Chenopodiaceae, Portulaca, Galium, Cyperaceae, and edible wild plant included Glycine, Trapa, Euryale ferox, Diospyros, Quercus, Amygdalus. Proportions and ubiquity of charred plant remains from two sites revealed that both agriculture and collection were important for plant food utilization in mid-Yangshao era in eastern Henan area, while agriculture had established a dominant position in subsistence. The most prominent feature of agriculture was mixed farming of rice and millets, and common millet was the main crop. This paper provides important data on agriculture development in eastern Henan area during the Yangshao era, and provides some clues for the spread of mixed farming in eastern central China.

Key words: East Henan, Yangshao, charred plant, mixed farming