Over the last 15 years, archaeologists have challenged outdated ideas about humans controlling nature. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Xinyi Liu in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis argues for a new conceptual bridge connecting the science of biological domestication to early food globalization.
Tag: millet
’Til the cows come home
Meat and dairy played a more significant role in human diets in Bronze Age China than previously thought. A new analysis also suggests that farmers and herders tended to sheep and goats differently than they did their cows, unlike in other parts of the world — keeping cows closer to home and feeding them the byproducts of grains that they were growing for their own consumption, like the grass stalks from millet plants.
The big potential of little millet
Overlooked little millet is a promising grain for our future climate. New research shows which varieties perform the best.
Local cooking preferences drove acceptance of new crop staples in prehistoric China
The food preparation preferences of Chinese cooks — such as the technological choice to boil or steam grains, instead of grinding or processing them into flour — had continental-scale consequences for the adoption of new crops in prehistoric China, according to research from Washington University in St. Louis. A new study in PLOS ONE led by Xinyi Liu, associate professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences, focuses on the ancient history of staple cereals across China, a country well known for its diverse food products and early adoption of many domesticated plants.
Water-Saving Alternative Forage Crops for Texas Livestock
With increasing drought conditions in the Texas High Plains, researchers test sorghum and pearl millet as alternatives to corn
A heart-healthy protein from bran of cereal crop
Researchers have identified a protein in foxtail millet that can help stave off atherosclerosis in mice genetically prone to the disease. They report their results in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.