New discovery Rice was introduced in the Jomon period!

?

February 2, 15:41

Rice is our staple food.

It has a long history and is said to have been brought to Japan from mainland China in ancient times, but there are various theories as to when this happened.

In the midst of this, research has been announced that attempts to elucidate the origins of rice cultivation using a unique approach.

Entrance exam questions related to rice farming

The first is an entrance exam question about rice farming.

problem.

What was the stone kitchen knife, a representative stone tool of the Yayoi period, used for?

A: Harvest the roots of the

rice I: Harvest the ears of rice U: Remove the

rice paddy

The correct answer is "i".

Stone knives were used to cut the heads of rice plants.

First, let's review the ancient history of Japan.

The Jomon period was the time when people lived by hunting and gathering, followed by the Yayoi period.

It is said to be the period when rice cultivation using paddy fields spread.

It is said that this rice cultivation came from mainland China to northern Kyushu.

In fact, there was a surprising new discovery about the time when this rice was introduced.

We interviewed Hiroki Obata of Kumamoto University, who specializes in archeology.

Mr. Obata

``Cultivation of grains such as millet and rice was already done in the Jomon period, not the Yayoi period.''

Rice was introduced before the Yayoi period!

?

In Japan, rice has been found in ruins from the Jomon period in the past.

However, when detailed research was conducted in the 2000s, it was discovered that rice from the 'later period' had been mixed with ruins from the Jomon period.

It was not known exactly when rice was introduced.

Therefore, Mr. Obata decided to thoroughly investigate the clay of the Jomon period pottery.

Mr. Obata:

“I searched for the seeds and insects that were left on the surface of the pottery, and I looked for them like stamps to find out what kind of rice and foxtails were hard to find among the pieces of pottery.”

The first thing Obata focused on was the surface of the pottery.

He combed through the slightest pits and took molds, examined traces of grain, and collected data.

Mr. Obata thought that the traces on the surface might be due to the fact that some of the clay was kneaded into the clay during the process of making the pottery.

Scanning using the latest technology such as X-rays and CT...

Charcoal that seems to be grain was found in the clay of the pottery.

Then they took out the charcoal and analyzed it to determine how old it was.

Furthermore, using CT, etc., the location where the carbide was found is made into a 3D image.

I will restore what kind of shape it was and identify the type.

As a result of using this method to examine pottery from the late Jomon period, five pieces of foxtail millet with a diameter of about 1 mm kneaded into the clay were discovered.

When we examined the age, it turned out to be from the same period as the pottery.

They discovered that the cultivation of rice and foxtail millet, which was thought to have started in the early Yayoi period, had already begun in the Jomon period.

Mr. Obata:

“I learned that it was 50 to 80 years older than the early Yayoi period.

Dr. Obata's research, which used the latest technology to examine every corner of earthenware, scientifically proved when rice and cereals were introduced.

It was the result of steady research that took several years to examine nearly 10,000 pieces of earthenware.

Today, in warehouses around the world, there are many excavated potteries that have never seen the light of day.

Mr. Obata thinks that by paying attention to them again, it will be a trigger to revive their value.

Mr. Obata

: I think that pottery is a ruin that is full of treasures. I think there might be, and I am enthusiastically investigating all the pottery in the storage.”

It is very rare to find a complete piece of pottery that is displayed in a museum.

It's a dream to make such a big discovery from among those fragments.

In "Migake, curiosity!" of "Weekly Maruwaki News" (broadcast at 8:25 am on Sundays), we delve into the news every week on topics such as current affairs presented in the entrance exam.

Let's think together about "why?"

On the corner homepage, you can also review the past.

Please take a look at the link below.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/maruwaka-migake/