Early Rice Paddies Discovered in Japan
Early Rice Paddies Discovered in Japan
Friday, June 24, 2016
NARA, JAPAN—In the south of Japan’s largest island of Honshu, archaeologists digging at the site of a future hotel have discovered remnants of 2,500-year-old rice paddies, reports the Asahi Shimbun. The paddies were planted during the Yayoi period, which lasted from 300 B.C. to A.D. 300. Traces of small rice paddies dating to this period had been found in the area, but the newly discovered paddies number around 500, and some measure up to 530 square feet. The discovery shows rice cultivation existed on a massive scale in Japan earlier than previously believed.
http://www.archaeology.org/news/4598-160624-japan-rice-paddies-discovered
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Study: Large rice paddies existed 2,500 years ago in central Nara
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 24, 2016 at 15:55 JST
NARA--Remnants of hundreds of rice paddies dating back 2,300 to 2,500 years were found, the first indication that mass cultivation of Japan’s staple existed in Nara long before the ancient capital of Heijokyo was established.
The findings showed that 5,500 square meters of rice paddies had been planted in the early Yayoi Pottery Culture period (300 B.C.-A.D. 300) in what is now central Nara, researchers at the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara of Nara Prefecture said June 23.
The area is near the site where the Heijokyu palace, residence for the emperor and the center of power, stood when Nara was home to the Heijokyo capital between 710 and 784.
“The recent discovery further corroborates the theory that people had a basis of livelihood here as far as back in the Yayoi period, before Heijokyo was set up,” said Keisuke Morishita, head of the Nara municipal government’s buried cultural property excavation center. “It is a significant find in terms of researching how rice cultivation began in this area in the early Yayoi period.”
Vestiges of small rice fields as well as clay pots have previously been discovered in the area, suggesting the possibility of rice production during the Yayoi period.
The larger rice paddies were found during a study of tracts of prefectural government-owned land spanning about 8,000 square meters.
More:
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606240058.html
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Interesting images from the Yayoi Culture:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1443&bih=670&q=Yayoi+Pottery+Culture&oq=Yayoi+Pottery+Culture&gs_l=img.12..0i24.613.613.0.2112.1.1.0.0.0.0.85.85.1.1.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.1.84.VZkH5ZSsQVI#imgrc=_