资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

The origin of C₄ agriculture in China, foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and common millet (Panicum miliaceum), remains unclear. Here we conducted a comprehensive geochemical study of the archeological site of Chahai in Northeastern (NE) China and deduced that higher C₄ biomass in the cultural layers was mainly caused by agricultural practices and other human activities. To evaluate the anthropogenic factors involved in millet domestication, we produced a time series of contour maps of C₄ biomass for North China since 14 ka and integrated archaeological data. Results show that the origin and development of millet agriculture was nearly synchronous with the increase in C₄ biomass in the early‐mid Holocene, but the synchrony was decoupled at ∼4 ka when millet cultivation was established in NE China. Our findings suggest that both human management (possibly cultivation) of C₄ plants, and an environmental background of high C₄ biomass drove the origin of millet agriculture.