Phnom Penh (VNA) – There has been scientificevidence showing that Cambodians have been cultivating and producing rice sincethe early Neolithic period.
Phnom Penh Post reported that in July last year,Thuy Chanthourn, the deputy director of the Institute of Arts and Culture ofthe Royal Academy of Cambodia and deputy president of the Cambodian HistoriansAssociation, brought samples of black rice fossils found in the basement ofPreah Ko Temple in Thala Barivat district, Stung Treng province, to thelaboratory of the Australian National University (ANU) to conduct experimentsto date the fossils.
With technical support from an archaeologicaland anthropological specialist at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences,Chanthourn successfully examined the rice which has since become the earliestscientific dating of early cultivation of the grain in Cambodia.
Experimental results show that the black ricefossils date from about 900 years to 1,000 years ago. Therefore, thisscientific experiment has unveiled the oldest example of rice production inCambodia, he said.
In addition to the new evidence, Chanthourn alsopresented results of other studies conducted on ancient rice husks at BanteayKou Circular Earthwork sites, east of the Mekong River, a site dating to around2,000BC.
Chanthourn’s study showed that rice has been themainstay cereal of Southeast Asians since the Neolithic period, which began around12,000 years ago and ended as civilisations started to rise around 3,500BC.
According to research books of the Stung Trengprovincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts, during the French colonial era,black rice was so rich people would collect and scatter it on the ground towish well to one another.
Thala Barivat natives have regarded the blackrice sample used in the experiment as a cultural treasure left behind from theancient ancestors since the construction of Preah Ko Temple. The black rice isstill referred to today as the “glorious rice” locally./.
Phnom Penh Post reported that in July last year,Thuy Chanthourn, the deputy director of the Institute of Arts and Culture ofthe Royal Academy of Cambodia and deputy president of the Cambodian HistoriansAssociation, brought samples of black rice fossils found in the basement ofPreah Ko Temple in Thala Barivat district, Stung Treng province, to thelaboratory of the Australian National University (ANU) to conduct experimentsto date the fossils.
With technical support from an archaeologicaland anthropological specialist at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences,Chanthourn successfully examined the rice which has since become the earliestscientific dating of early cultivation of the grain in Cambodia.
Experimental results show that the black ricefossils date from about 900 years to 1,000 years ago. Therefore, thisscientific experiment has unveiled the oldest example of rice production inCambodia, he said.
In addition to the new evidence, Chanthourn alsopresented results of other studies conducted on ancient rice husks at BanteayKou Circular Earthwork sites, east of the Mekong River, a site dating to around2,000BC.
Chanthourn’s study showed that rice has been themainstay cereal of Southeast Asians since the Neolithic period, which began around12,000 years ago and ended as civilisations started to rise around 3,500BC.
According to research books of the Stung Trengprovincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts, during the French colonial era,black rice was so rich people would collect and scatter it on the ground towish well to one another.
Thala Barivat natives have regarded the blackrice sample used in the experiment as a cultural treasure left behind from theancient ancestors since the construction of Preah Ko Temple. The black rice isstill referred to today as the “glorious rice” locally./.
VNA
