Was Jiahu rice a dead-end wild type?
The earliest rice in north China came from Jiahu (9000-7000 cal BP). The importance of rice in Jiahu subsistence is well documented. An isotopic analysis of human bones shows that the predominant dietary source of Jiahu people was C3 plants, including rice (Hu et al. 2006). Chemical analyses on organic substances absorbed into ceramic vessels indicates that rice was used for brewing fermented beverages at Jiahu (McGovern et al. 2004).
