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Soil Temp: Key to Ancient Millet Farming?
5 Jun
Summary
- Soil temperature, not air temp, shaped Neolithic millet farming.
- Climate shifts around 7,500 years ago impacted farming centers.
- Warmer soil temperatures after 6,000 years ago spurred rapid expansion.
A new climate study from China's Loess Plateau indicates soil temperature significantly influenced Neolithic millet farming.
The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, investigated why millet agriculture, originating about 8,000 years ago, saw a nearly two-millennia slowdown before rapid expansion around 6,000 years ago.
Reconstructed soil temperature records show that initially warm soils in Yanshan-Liaoning favored millet cultivation. However, from 7,500 to 6,000 years ago, cooling soil temperatures reduced habitat suitability.
This led to a southward shift of millet farming to the Loess Plateau, where soils remained warmer. After 6,000 years ago, a return to warm and stable soil temperatures triggered a significant agricultural boom, laying the foundation for later Neolithic cultures.
