Analysis of Plant Remains from Yuhuicun Site in Bengbu City, Anhui Province

Abstract:Yuhuicun site is a sacrificial site located at Bengbu city, Anhui province, which geologically belongs to the Middle Huai River region of East China, dated to 4500-4000 BC. Flotation work was conducted during the excavation in the site in 2009 and 2010. The charred plant seeds discovered in the site are three crops, including Oryza sativa , Triticum aestivum and Setaria italic. Also other plant taxa such as Panicoideae, Leguminosae, Cyperaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbiataceae, Polygonaceae, Amaranthtaceae, Rosaceae, Caryophyllaceae and so on.
The quantitive analyses is based on the result of the flotation, which indicated that the Yuhuicun farming was characterized by a mixed intercropping of rice and wheat.

Keyword:  Yuhuicun site; Flotation; Charred plant seeds; crops; grass