ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the eastern movements of barley grains and their morphological variations in prehistory. By combining previously published and newly collected archaeobotanical grain measurements (n = 2,176), we explore the roles of culinary traditions underlying the morphological traits observed. We find that barley diminished in size as it moved from its origin in southwestern Asia to Central and East Asia between the third millennium BC and first millennium BC. In particular, the grains in Monsoonal China became greatly reduced in comparison to other regions as the crop was incorporated into eastern small grain cuisines. The reverse pattern is observed in the high-altitude Tibetan environment, which is attributed to the practicalities of cooking under low vapour pressure conditions. These results, demonstrating that barley moved eastward but western grinding and baking traditions did not, reveal the complexity of the eastern culinary system and raise awareness of decoupling of grains and their associated cuisines.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the National Science Foundation, under grant 1826727 [The Origins and Spread of Millet Cultivation] for financial support.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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Notes on contributors
Melissa M. Ritchey
Melissa M. Ritchey, MA is a PhD student at the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis.
Yufeng Sun
Yufeng Sun, MA is a PhD candidate at the Department of Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute
Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, PhD, is senior researcher at Lithuanian Institute of History, Vilnius.
Shinya Shoda
Shinya Shoda, PhD, is a senior researcher and head of International Cooperation Section at the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and honorary visiting fellow at University of York.
Anil K. Pokharia
Anil K. Pokharia, PhD, is a senior scientist at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow.
Michael Spate
Michael Spate, PhD, is a post-doctoral researcher at Department of Archaeology, University of Sydney.
Li Tang
Li Tang, MA, is a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
Jixiang Song
Jixiang Song, PhD, is an associate professor at Department of Archaeology, Sichuan University
Haiming Li
Haiming Li, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Institution of Chinese Agricultural Civilization, Nanjing Agricultural University.
Guanghui Dong
Guanghui Dong, PhD, is a professor at the Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change, Lanzhou University.
Petra Vaiglova
Petra Vaiglova, PhD, is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis.
Michael Frachetti
Michael Frachetti is a professor of archaeology at the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis and a professor at the School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
Xinyi Liu
Xinyi Liu, PhD, is an associate professor of archaeology at the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis.