RICE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS IN BINH PHUOC PROVINCE AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The interdisciplinary study of archaeology and archaeo-botanical in recent years has discovered cultivated rice (Oryza sativa japonica) in some circular earthwork sites in Binh Phuoc province. The direct dating of the rice grains is compatible with the AMS dating of the cultural layers in which it was discovered, approximately 4,000 to 3,000 years ago. This finding has brought new insights into the life and subsistence of the owners of prehistoric "round villages", indicated that they had cultivated rice farming beside hunting and gathering from the natural environment. These findings suggest research perspective with the application of modern techniques such as AMS direct dating and genetic analysis (DNA) for ancient plant species that will contribute to sketch out the spreading of rice cultivation in the mainland Southeast Asia.