不成熟粟、黍的植物考古学意义——粟的作物加工实验

The Significance of Plant Archaeology to Immature Millet and Broomcorn Millet——Machining Experiment of Millet's Crop

我们在一个现代村落进行了一次传统方式的粟的早期作物加工实验,结果显示在收割的粟中含有相当比重的不成熟粟,这些不成熟粟经过脱粒和扬场等加工程序后,与其它作物加工的副产品一起被去除(作为燃料或者禽畜饲料)。类似的作物加工副产品也可以推测存在于黍的加工过程中。这一研究为植物考古样品中不成熟粟、黍的鉴定提供了一个参考标准。不成熟粟、黍是中国新石器和青铜时代植物考古样品中常见的组成部分,根据此次实验结果,我们提出了一些可供参考的鉴定标准,并用来自山东和河南的植物考古样品举例说明。我们认为种子形态而不是种子大小在粟的鉴定过程中起决定性作用。那些整体形状呈圆形,胚区呈窄卵形,胚区长约占种子长5/6的种子,即便很小,很扁,甚至像被"挤压"过,都可以鉴定为粟。尽管不成熟粟根据其成熟程度可以区分为不同的类别,但由于他们都集中在早期作物加工废弃物内,因此他们在解释作物加工方面的意义是相同的。另外,这一研究还肯定了在植物考古研究中不成熟粟类作物和成熟粟类作物的比例可以用来探讨作物加工对考古遗址中以粟类作物为主的植物遗存的形成过程的影响。

We present evidence from ethnography and experimental proeessing of foxtail millet （Setaria italica） in China that spikelets containing incompletely filled （or immature） grains constitute a significant portion of typical millet harvests and are removed along with other by-products after threshing and winnowing. This study provides a baseline for the identification of immature foxtail grains in archaeobotanical assemblages. Similar by- protucts are expected from Panieum miliaceum processing, lmmature millet grains are a frequent component of archaeobotanical assemblages in Neolithic and Brnnze Age China, and criteria for their recognition are presented based on our modern experimental result and illustrated with archaeobotanical examples from Shandong and Henan. It is seed morphology rather than size plays a determinative role in the identification of foxtail millet. It is suggested that those grains with a narrow egg-shaped emhryo, which is about 5/6 of the whole grain, and have a round shape can he classed as foxtail millet even though they are small, fiat and squashed. While different grades of immaturity in millet grains might be defined, the interpretative potential of these appears to be the same as these are concentrated in winnowing waste. This study confirms the suggestion that the ratio of immature to mature millet grains can be employed in arehaeobotany in considering whether or not early stage crop-processing （threshing and winnowing） contributed to the formation of particular archaeolngical millet assemblages.