--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
>
> van Driem's "Tibeto-Burma vs Indo-Chinese (in Sagart et al. "The
> peopling of East Asia" traces agriculture branching out with various
> etnolinguistic groups in East Asia. The one that should interest
> PIEists is this archaeological sequence:
>
> Sichuan Mesolithic and Neolithic (11500 - 2000 BC) ->
> Dadiwan Neolithic (Gansu & Shanxi) (6500 - 5200 BC) ->
> Majiayao Neolithic (ibd.) (3900 - 1800 BC) ->
> Northern Neolithic (Kashmir) (2500 - 1700 BC)
>
> where the story ends as far as he is concerned. It is the closest
> early agriculture gets to PIE. Does that mean agriculture is not
> native to PIE? If so, at least something did go out-of-India.
>
> Can anyone here continue the tale?
>
>
> Torsten
>
Agriculture in South Asia is much older than previously thought. Here
is a news report. Try googling Lahurdeva for more.
M. Kelkar
The first farmer belonged to (UP) India, says ASI
Rajesh Kumar Singh
Lucknow, January 8
----------
CHINA'S `FIRST farmer' crown is up for grabs! Archaeological findings
in Lahuradeva in Sant Kabir Nagar district have indicated that the
Middle Ganga Valley (Uttar Pradesh) might have been home to the First
Farmer.
The State Archaeological Department, which has carried out excavation
at the mound of Lahuradeva, says the findings indicate that ancient
humans residing in this valley bid adieu to nomadic life and took to
farming and domestication of animals during the New Stone Age.
Historians and archaeologists around the world have been debating over
the home of the First Farmer. The Chinese claim that first time farming
started in their country 10,000-years back. But Middle East and West
Asian countries have countered this asserting that first farming
started in their river valleys.
In India, the archaeological remains so far had indicated that farming
started 5,000 to 6,000 years back. But scholar and historians were not
willing to buy the findings, specially when the country had all the
resources for agriculture? In India too agriculture practices should
have started earlier or at the same period as in other civilizations,
they asserted.
Lahuradeva has now provided the answer. The archaeologists here have
found remains of carbonised material containing grains of cultivated
rice along with wild grass. There are several layers of ancient
civilization buried under the mound as the archaeologists found out
when they dug deeper..
The findings indicate that people residing in this area too started
farming 10,000 years back. Talking to Hindustan Times, director State
Archaeological Department Rakesh Tiwari said the habitation deposits
had been divided into a five-fold tentative culture sequence, including
Early Farming Phase, Copper Age, Early Iron Age, NBPW and Early
Centuries BC/ AD.
The cultural remains of Early Farming Phase, including potsherds,
charred and un-charred bones, scattered small pieces of charcoal, small
burnt chunks of clay, a small piece of stone and tortoise shell, were
found here. Ceramic industries of the period consisted of hand made red
ware, black and red ware, he said.
The Eastern UP plain, where even today the farmers preferred rice
cultivation, was the rice bowl in this period. Ancient habitants of
Middle East and West Asian countries preferred barley and wheat, while
the Chinese grew rice.
The mound of Lahuradeva is a holy spot for natives of Jagdishpur
village located nearby.
The villagers believe that it is abode of Samai Mai and with her
blessing they have been harvesting good crop. But the villagers were
ignorant of the fact that agriculture pattern followed by their
forefathers laid buried under the mound.
During Neolithic Period, the people gave up hunting and food gathering
practice. They took to farming and domesticating animals. It paved way
for early settlements and village community.
The State Archaeological Department has now decided to put the findings
before the scholars who are engaged in the study of first farming
culture world over. Some of the top scholars, including Prof Peter
Bellwood (Australia), Prof Toshiki Osada (Japan), Prof Tan Linghua
(China), Dr FE Jarriege and Dr C Jarriege (France), Dr Dorian Fuller
and Dr Harriet Hunt (United Kingdom), Dr Steve Waber (Canada) and Dr
Prematilake (Sri Lanka), will be in Lucknow on January 18 to scan the
Lahuradeva finding and to study the archaeological remains of the
ancient civilization.
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