Possible Evidence of Cave-Dwelling Farmers Found in China

News November 6, 2017

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FUZHOU, CHINA—Some 10,000 grains of carbonized rice have been discovered in a cave in southeast China, according to a Xinhua News Agency report. Caves are usually thought to be the homes of hunter-gatherers, but Zhao Zhijun, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the remains of common farmland weeds found among the rice grains suggest they were grown by the Nanshan cave dwellers between 5,300 and 4,300 years ago. And the people suffered from dental cavities and other oral problems common among agrarian societies, added team member Wang Minghui. “The Nanshan finding offers a new perspective for prehistoric study,” Zhao said. “We must consider more possibilities when talking about where our ancestors lived and what they lived on.” For more, go to “The Buddha of the Lake.”

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