| Affiliation: | (1) Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, UK;(2) Department of History and Archaeology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, 580 003 Karnataka, India;(3) Department of History, Archaeology and Culture, Dravidian University Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh 517 425, India;(4) Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK |
| Abstract: | Analysis of flotation samples from twelve sites in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (south India) provides clear evidence for the predominant subsistence plants of the Neolithic period (2,800–1,200 cal b.c.). This evidence indicates that the likely staples were two pulses (Vigna radiata and Macrotyloma uniflorum) and two millet-grasses (Brachiaria ramosa and Setaria verticillata) which were indigenous to the Indian peninsula. At some sites there is evidence for limited cultivation of wheats (Triticum diococcum, Triticum durum/aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), and a few crops that originated in Africa, including hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana). In addition there is evidence for cotton (Gossypium sp.), and linseed (Linum sp.), as well as gathered fruits of Ziziphus and two Cucurbitaceae. This evidence suggests that the earliest agriculture in south India, dating to the third millennium b.c., was based on plants domesticated in the region, and that subsequently from the late 3rd millennium b.c. through the 2nd millennium additional crops from other regions were adopted into the subsistence system.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-004-0036-9 |
