The Southward Spread Of Early Millet Agriculture In The Tibetan-Yi Corridor

The Tibetan-Yi Corridor was an important north-south corridor of ethnic groups in ancient China,covering most areas of the Hengduan Mountains,Lancang River,Minjiang River,Dadu River,Jinsha River,Yalong River and Nujiang River.In this paper,the plant remains of the late Neolithic sites in Huili and Dapingzi in Jinsha River Basin of Sichuan were identified and counted.Based on the results of plant remains identification,the crop assemblage and the utilization of plant resources at the two sites were analyzed,and the spatial distribution of plant remains and crop processing were discussed.Combined with the site background,this article analyzes the reason of the difference of crop combination two sites.Finally,on the basis of the foregoing analysis,we comprehensively discuss the living ways of the ancestors of the two places and try to restore their living conditions.Combined with the archaeobotanical materials of other sites in the same period,the paper explores the commonality and influencing factors of the subsistence among sites in different basins of the Tibetan-Yi Corridor,and preliminarily explores the transmission route of millet agriculture into Huili.Through the analysis,understanding herein are as follows:(1)Millets and rice were the crop compositions at Houzidong site,while millets were the only crop compositions at Dapingzi site;Both of them take millets as the main crop.(2)Based on weeds and rice husk of phytoliths analysis found that Houzidong site crop consumption and processing is not in the same place,there are different functional areas.At the Houzidong site,only short-term rice processing was found,and there was no evidence of millet processing.(3)Through the combined analysis of crops,weeds and other related studies,the subsistence of the ancestors of the two sites above was mainly hunting,combined with small-scale farming.(4)By combing the archaeobotanical materials in the other basins except for the Nujiang River during the same period,it was found that in the late Neolithic period,the sites in this area showed both hunting and farming lifestyle.Although there are differences in crop compositions in different basins,millets has always played an important role in the lives of the ancestors at each site.The commonality of this subsistence lifestyle was formed under the influence of both the special geographical environment and the migration and exchanges between different ethnic groups.It was because of the migration of ethnic groups that the millet agriculture at the Houzidong Site and Dapingzi Site migrated from eastern Tibet to Yunnan and finally reached Huili in southwestern Sichuan.