A northern Chinese origin of Austronesian agriculture: new evidence on traditional Formosan cereals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Genetic data for traditional Taiwanese (Formosan) agriculture is essential for tracing the origins on the East Asian mainland of the Austronesian language family, whose homeland is generally placed in Taiwan. Three main models for the origins of the Taiwanese Neolithic have been proposed: origins in coastal north China (Shandong); in coastal central China (Yangtze Valley), and in coastal south China. A combination of linguistic and agricultural evidence helps resolve this controversial issue.

Results

We report on botanically informed linguistic fieldwork of the agricultural vocabulary of Formosan aborigines, which converges with earlier findings in archaeology, genetics and historical linguistics to assign a lesser role for rice than was earlier thought, and a mor

SUBMITTER: Sagart L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6179969 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature