Foxtail and broomcorn millet were domesticated in the Yellow River valley of northern China roughly 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, predating widespread rice cultivation there and forming, alongside rice in the south, one of the two founding pillars of Chinese agriculture. Millet' s tolerance of dry, marginal soils made it the staple grain of the drier northern Chinese plains for millennia, supporting early Neolithic cultures such as Yangshao and Longshan before wheat, introduced later from the west, and rice cultivation spreading north gradually reduced its dominance; the crop also spread independently across parts of Africa and South Asia via other millet species domesticated there.
Facts
WhenAround 8,000 years before present (Cishan culture, foxtail millet) 1 LocationYellow River valley, Cishan, northern China 1 Classification
Type/ClassificationAgricultural Revolution or Transformation 1 Connections
Associated With
Millet, Crops This milestone records the domestication event of the millet crop it is directly named for.
Sources
1. Foxtail millet (Wikipedia)
Introduction
The oldest evidence of foxtail millet cultivation was found along the ancient course of the Yellow River in Cishan, China, carbon dated to be from around 8,000 years before present.
History and domestication section
The Cishan culture of China has been identified as the earliest to domesticate foxtail millet around 6500-5500 BC.
lead description (milestone-kind)
Foxtail and broomcorn millet were domesticated in the Yellow River valley of northern China roughly 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, predating widespread rice cultivation there and forming, alongside rice in the south, one of the two founding pillars of Chinese agriculture.
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