[Paper] Holocene coastal evolution preceded the expansion of paddy field rice farming

via Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 14 September 2020: This paper suggests that the emergence of coastal plains in Southern China sped the expansion of rice agriculturalists southwards to Southeast Asia between 2,000 – 3,000 years ago.

Our study reveals a remarkable relationship between Late Holocene coastal evolution and the rise of rice agriculture across coastal Asia. Around 2,000 to 3,000 y ago, the emergence of coastal plains under freshwater conditions created expansive areas suitable for rice. We estimate that over the past three millennia the extent of coastal land suitable for wetland rice cultivation grew from about 16,000 km² to 96,000 km². Intensive paddy field farming took hold rapidly as coastal landscapes changed. Thus, large-scale rice farming was not established in southern China and Southeast Asia until rather late in the Holocene. This model helps explain ancient DNA evidence suggesting a major Bronze Age demographic expansion of rice farmers of northern East Asian descent.

Source: Holocene coastal evolution preceded the expansion of paddy field rice farming | PNAS