Phytolith Evidence From the Qugou Site Reveals the Earliest Crop Cultivation 8800 Years Ago in the Middle–Lower Huai River, Eastern China

ABSTRACT The spatiotemporal trajectories of crop dispersal are crucial for understanding agricultural development and cultural interaction among prehistoric populations. The middle–lower Huai River represents a geographic, climatic, and vegetation transitional zone between northern and southern China and has long been regarded as a key region for Neolithic agricultural exchange. However, the timing and processes by which rice and millets appeared in this region remain unclear. Here, phytolith analysis from the Qugou site, together with phytolith carbon dating, reveals the earliest crop cultivation and domestication process in this area. The results show that rice was cultivated as the staple crop from at least 8.8 ka BP. Broomcorn millet and foxtail millet were introduced later, at 7.2 and 6.4 ka BP, respectively, and functioned as supplementary components of the cropping system. In addition, rice remains recovered from Qugou were the domesticated Japonica type, while broomcorn millet shows evidence of an ongoing domestication process. These findings represent the earliest evidence for the exploitation of both rice and millets in the middle–lower Huai River and provide new insights into Neolithic agricultural practices, crop dispersal, and human adaptation strategies in eastern China.