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The Origins or Rice Cultivation

Tara Heales

Salt Lake Community College

Anth 1030 Controversy paper 2

March 23, 2017

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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
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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

overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to Asia.

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References

Silva, Fabio, Stevens, Chris J., Weisskopf, Alison, Castillo, Cristina, Qin, Ling, Bevan, Andrew,

Fuller, Dorian Q. (2015).

Modelling the Geographical Origin of Rice Cultivation in Asia Using the Rice

Archaeological Database PLoSONE10(9): e0137024.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137024

Accessed March 22, 2017

Roy, Pritesh Sundar, Rao, Gundimeda Jwala Narasimh, Jena, Sudipta, Samal, Rashmita, Patnaik,

Ashok, Patnaik, Sasank Sekhar Chyau, Jambhulkar, Nitiprasad Namdeorao, Sharma, Srigopal,

Mohapatra, Trilochan (2016)

Nuclear and Chloroplast DNA Variation Provides Insights into Population Structure and

Multiple Origin of Native Aromatic Rices of Odisha,India, Electronic document,

PLoSONE11(9): e0162268.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162268

Accessed March 22, 2017