Rice and millet cultivated in Ha Long Bay of Northern Vietnam 4000 years ago

Abstract

Research has generally outlined that the Neolithic East Asian farmers expanded into Southeast Asia, leading to substantial social and cultural transformations. However, the associated archaeobotanical evidence until now has been insufficient to clarify the exact timing, dispersal route, and farming package of the emergence of agriculture in Mainland Southeast Asia. To clarify these issues, the micro-plant remains of phytolith and starch from three Neolithic sites in Ha Long Bay were extracted and analyzed. This study validates the earliest evidence of co-cropping in northern Vietnam, involving the cultivation of rice together with foxtail millet at 4000 years BP or slightly earlier. Moreover, the results indicate that at least two patterns of subsistence strategy were practiced simultaneously during the initial farming phase in the region. The Trang Kenh people, a regional variant of the Phung Nguyen cultural group often have been seen as the first farmers in northern Vietnam, and they mainly practiced a cereal-based subsistence strategy with more vital cultural characteristics of southern China origin. Meanwhile, the Ha Long people, mainly composed of indigenous hunter-gatherer descendants, continued to utilize a wide range of their preferred plant resources such as taros, yams, and acorns, while they absorbed and incorporated new elements such as millet and rice into their food system. This study provides solid information to understand the diverse economic systems among different cultural groups in Vietnam.

Keywords: Ha Long Bay; Southeast Asia; Vietnam; agriculture; millet; phytolith; rice; starch.

Figure 1

Locations of the three major studied sites (shown in red triangles) and other major sites mentioned in the text (shown in black dots).

Figure 2

Archaeological chronology and cultural sequence in Ha Long Bay, noting relations with southern China (interactions between two cultural groups: shown in black dotted-line arrows).

Figure 3

Radiocarbon dates form Bai Ben (A) and Trang Kenh (B). All dates were calibrated with OxCal v4.4.2 (Ramsey, 2009) and presented at 2σ probability, using details as reported in Table 2 .

Figure 4

Stone tools from Bai Ben (A–E), Bai Cat Don (F–O), and Trang Kenh (P–T) for this study; (A, F–K, P) Grinding stone, (B, C, L, Q, R) Muller/Pounder, (D, O) Grinding stone tools “Ha Long Mark”, (E) Short axe, (M) Pitted pebble, (N) Shouldered axe fragment, (S) Chopper, (T) Adze.

Figure 5

Jade ornaments excavated from the Trang Kenh jade workshop.

Figure 6

Ancient starches recovered from residues on the stone tools (under polarized and brightfield light). Group 1 from Bai Ben site: (A, B) Type Ia, Colocasia spp./Alocasia spp., (C) Type IIa, Dioscorea alata, (D) Type IIb, Dioscorea spp., (E) Type III, Arenga sp., (F) Type IV, Zingiber sp., (G) Type V, Setaria italica,; Group 2 from Bai Cat Don site: (A) Type Ia, Colocasia spp./Alocasia spp., (B) Type Ib, Colocasia esculenta, (C) Type IIa, Dioscorea alata, (D) Type III, Arenga sp., (E) Type V, Setaria italica, (F) Type VI, Quercus sp., (G) Type VII, Vigna sp.; Group 3 from Trang Kenh site: (A) Type Ia, Colocasia spp./Alocasia spp., (B) Type IV, Zingiber sp., (C–E) Type V, Setaria italica, (F) Type VIII, Oryza sativa. Scale bar = 20μm.

Figure 7

Modern starch references relevant to this study (under polarized and brightfield light). (A) Colocasia konishii, (B) Alocasia macrorrhizos, (C) Dioscorea esculenta, (D) Arenga pinnata, (E) Zingiber officinale, (F) Setaria italica, (G) Colocasia esculenta, (H) Quercus francheti, (I) Vigna umbellata, (J) Oryza sativa subsp. japonica. Scale bar = 20μm.

Figure 8

Major sites with the evidence of rice and millets in Mainland Southeast Asia during the Neolithic period. 1. Dong Dau, 2. Thanh Den, 3. Xuan Kieu, 4. Tu Son, 5, Trang Kenh, 6. Bai Ben, 7. Bai Cat Don, 8. Cai Beo, 9. Bai Cu, 10. Bai Man, 11. Thach Lac, 12. An Son, 13. Loc Giang, 14. Rach Nui, 15. Krek 52/62, 16. Samrong Sen, 17. Mlu Prei, 18. Banyan Valley cave, 19. Ban Chiang, 20. Non Nok Tha, 21. Khok Charoen, 22. Ban Lum Khao, 23-25. Non Pa Wai, Non Mak La, Ni Kham Haeng (labeled as millet sites, because no rice was found in the Neolithic period of these three sites), 26. Tha Kae, 27. Khok Phanom Di (see details in Table 1 ).

Figure 9

The proportions of different plants recovered from the four studied sites (multicolor histogram correlate to the left coordinate axis), and the average number of starch grains recovered (gray dots and solid line correlate to the right coordinate axis). The average number of starch grains found on each stone tool from the Cai Beo and Early Ha Long phases was 100, but the number dropped in the Late Ha Long and Phung Nguyen phases to below 10 grains on each tool. Clearly, the numbers of rice and millet increased through time.