Rice was domesticated from wild grasses in the Yangtze River valley of southern China roughly 9,000 years ago, producing the japonica subspecies of Oryza sativa; genetic and archaeological evidence points to a separate, later domestication of the indica subspecies in South Asia, likely through hybridization with local wild rice after japonica cultivation had already spread there. The crop moved outward from these founding regions across East, South and Southeast Asia over the following millennia, and paddy-field cultivation became the foundation of population growth and state formation across the region. Rice remains the staple food for more of the world' population than any other single crop.
Facts
Partially Attested
Milestone YearConverted from the source's 9,000 years ago to an approximate calendar year. LocationUpper and Lower Yangtze, China 1 Classification
Type/ClassificationAgricultural Revolution or Transformation 1 Connections
Associated With
Rice, Crops This milestone records the domestication event of the rice crop it is directly named for.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: China, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Rice
Domestication section, opening sentence
Oryza sativa rice was first domesticated in China 9,000 years ago
Domestication section, Yangtze passage
Upper and Lower Yangtze
lead description (milestone-kind)
Rice was domesticated from wild grasses in the Yangtze River valley of southern China roughly 9,000 years ago, producing the japonica subspecies of Oryza sativa; genetic and archaeological evidence points to a separate, later domestication of the indica subspecies in South Asia, likely through hybridization with local wild rice after japonica cultivation had already spread there.
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