Process of rice domestication in relation to Holocene environmental changes in the Ningshao Plain, lower Yangtze

Understanding the process of domestication and its relationship with environmental changes is fundamental to rice domestication research. The lower Yangtze region in China, with varied coastal environments and a flourishing Neolithic culture, was one of the major rice domestication centers in Asia. Here we present the results of 348 phytolith and 87 diatom samples from a 43.88-m-long core HMD1401 in the Ningshao Plain, southern part of the lower Yangtze. The results show that the study site was in a marine condition during the interval of ~10,000–7000 cal. yr BP. Marine regressed after ~7000 cal. yr BP, with occasional influences by sea water and flood. Rice was being domesticated in the Ningshao Plain at ~9600 cal. yr BP, and rice domestication experienced a protracted process that lasted for over 3500 years. The influence of marine condition might contribute to the prolonging of rice domestication. Relatively stable terrestrial condition and intensive human activities promoted rice domestication in the Ningshao Plain. The results provide an improved understanding of the interrelations between early rice domestication and Holocene environmental changes in East Asia.