Relationship Between C<sub>4</sub>Biomass and C<sub>4</sub>Agriculture During the Holocene and its Implications for Millet Domestication in Northeast China
Wang Jian, Xinying Zhou, Hai Xu, Junchi Liu, Qingjiang Yang, Chao Zhao, Qiang Gao, Keliang Zhao, Hermann Behling, Xiaoqiang Li
Abstract
Abstract The origin of C 4 agriculture in China, foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ) and common millet ( Panicum miliaceum ), remains unclear. Here we conducted a comprehensive geochemical study of the archeological site of Chahai in Northeastern (NE) China and deduced that higher C 4 biomass in the cultural layers was mainly caused by agricultural practices and other human activities. To evaluate the anthropogenic factors involved in millet domestication, we produced a time series of contour maps of C 4 biomass for North China since 14 ka and integrated archaeological data. Results show that the origin and development of millet agriculture was nearly synchronous with the increase in C 4 biomass in the early‐mid Holocene, but the synchrony was decoupled at ∼4 ka when millet cultivation was established in NE China. Our findings suggest that both human management (possibly cultivation) of C 4 plants, and an environmental background of high C 4 biomass drove the origin of millet agriculture.