Ancient Agriculture: The Migration of Millet

Here is an interesting article that says millet actually spread from ancient China to eastern Europe some 9,000 years ago. China's millet spread to Europe 7,000 years ago 13:37, May 14, 2009 Millet was brought into Europe from China more than 7,000 years ago, archaeologists from the University of Cambridge in the UK stated in a thesis published by US journal "Science" on May 8. The report, entitled "Origins of Agriculture in East Asia," was coauthored by Martin Jones, a professor of archaeology at the University of Cambridge and his Chinese student Liu Xinyi. The study said that charred millet seeds found in the Neolithic farming remains in Northeast China indicated that locals had planted millet as early as 8,000 years ago. Millet was gradually introduced to Europe during the next millennium. This research result shows that millet crops were first cultivated in China before being introduced to the West. By People's Daily Online http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2009-05/14/content_252616.htm

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I think we still don't know a great deal about the rise of agriculture and/or how it spread. I do not think that we can discount China as a source for such things as the brewing of beers and the invention of wine. I believe that not enough attention has been paid to a very old trade coridor that linked parts of northwest China around the Tarim Basin to civilizations further west. Whisps of evidence exist that attest to a very old linkage, possibly as old as late-Naqada/Dynasty I Egypt. Unfortunately, money is tighter than ever when it comes to archaeological explorations of areas other than certain popular hot spots and/or hot topics (like the so-called tomb of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, oh please). Sigh.