A THREE-STAGE MODEL FOR THE DOMESTICATION OF ORYZA SATIVA AND THE EMERGENCE OF RICE AGRICULTURE IN CHINA, 12,000 - 7,000 BP

Abstract

The understanding of the origins of rice domestication and agriculture is poor due to a lack of a multidisciplinary synthesis within a comprehensive theoretical model. The purpose of this study is to offer a new synthesis of data and a new theoretical model for where, when, how and why issues concerning the origins of rice agriculture. The principal methodology of this study has been to apply Western theories to available archaeological, archaeobotanical, and paleoenvironmental data. A theory of coevolutionary change, one that outlines a three-stage model of incidental-, specialized-, and agricultural domestication, is used to understand the process that resulted in the fully matured practice of rice agriculture. This dissertation suggests that rice agriculture emerged through a long-term process between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago. It identifies three independent centers for the origins of rice agriculture in China: the Middle Yangzi Valley, the Lower Yangzi Valley, and the Huai Valley.