Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK.
Museo de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, 05508-900, Brazil.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2017 Nov;1(11):1693-1698. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0322-4. Epub 2017 Oct 9.
The development of agriculture is one of humankind's most pivotal achievements. Questions about plant domestication and the origins of agriculture have engaged scholars for well over a century, with implications for understanding its legacy on global subsistence strategies, plant distribution, population health and the global methane budget. Rice is one of the most important crops to be domesticated globally, with both Asia (Oryza sativa L.) and Africa (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) discussed as primary centres of domestication. However, until now the pre-Columbian domestication of rice in the Americas has not been documented. Here we document the domestication of Oryza sp. wild rice by the mid-Holocene residents of the Monte Castelo shell mound starting at approximately 4,000 cal. yr BP, evidenced by increasingly larger rice husk phytoliths. Our data provide evidence for the domestication of wild rice in a region of the Amazon that was also probably the cradle of domestication of other major crops such as cassava (Manihot esculenta), peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.). These results underline the role of wetlands as prime habitats for plant domestication worldwide.
农业的发展是人类最重要的成就之一。关于植物驯化和农业起源的问题已经困扰学者一个多世纪了，这对于理解农业对全球生存策略、植物分布、人口健康和全球甲烷预算的影响具有重要意义。水稻是全球最重要的驯化作物之一，亚洲（Oryza sativa L.）和非洲（Oryza glaberrima Steud.）都被认为是主要的驯化中心。然而，直到现在，美洲的水稻在哥伦布发现新大陆之前的驯化情况还没有被记录下来。在这里，我们记录了中全新世（约 4000 年前）蒙特卡斯特罗贝丘遗址的居民对野生稻的驯化，这一点可以从越来越大的稻壳植硅体得到证明。我们的数据为亚马逊地区野生稻驯化提供了证据，该地区可能也是其他主要作物如木薯（Manihot esculenta）、花生（Arachis hypogaea）和辣椒（Capsicum sp.）的驯化中心。这些结果强调了湿地作为全球植物驯化主要栖息地的作用。
