Selection for Oil Content During Soybean Domestication Revealed by X-Ray Tomography of Ancient Beans.

When and under what circumstances domestication related traits evolved in soybean (Glycine max) is not well understood. Seed size has been a focus of archaeological attention because increased soybean seed weight/size is a trait that distinguishes most modern soybeans from their ancestors; however, archaeological seed size analysis has had limited success. Modern domesticated soybean has a significantly higher oil content than its wild counterpart so oil content is potentially a source of new insight into soybean domestication.

Rice Domestication Revealed by Reduced Shattering of Archaeological rice from the Lower Yangtze valley.

Plant remains dating to between 9000 and 8400 BP from a probable ditch structure at the Huxi site include the oldest rice (Oryza sativa) spikelet bases and associated plant remains recovered in China. The remains document an early stage of rice domestication and the ecological setting in which early cultivation was taking place. The rice spikelet bases from Huxi include wild (shattering), intermediate, and domesticated (non-shattering) forms.

Archaeological evidence for peach (Prunus persica) cultivation and domestication in China.

The cultivated/domesticated peach (Prunus persica var. persica; Rosaceae, subgenus Amygdalus; synonym: Amygdalus persica) originated in China, but its wild ancestor, as well as where, when, and under what circumstances the peach was domesticated, is poorly known. Five populations of archaeological peach stones recovered from Zhejiang Province, China, document peach use and evolution beginning ca.

Archaeological soybean (Glycine max) in East Asia: does size matter?

The recently acquired archaeological record for soybean from Japan, China and Korea is shedding light on the context in which this important economic plant became associated with people and was domesticated. This paper examines archaeological (charred) soybean seed size variation to determine what insight can be gained from a comprehensive comparison of 949 specimens from 22 sites. Seed length alone appears to represent seed size change through time, although the length × width × thickness product has the potential to provide better size change resolution.

Plants and people from the Early Neolithic to Shang periods in North China.

An assemblage of charred plant remains collected from 26 sites in the Yiluo valley of North China as part of an archaeological survey spans the period from the sixth millennium to 1300 calibrated calendrical years (cal) B.C. The plant remains document a long sequence of crops, weeds, and other plants in the country.