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Morphological Characters of Plant Opals from Motor Cells of Rice in the Neolithic Age of the Taihu Region
Zheng Yunfei,H Fujiwara,You Xiuling,Yu Weijie,Liu Bin,Ding Jinlong,Wang Cailin,T Udatsu
1999, 13(1):
25-30 .
To determine subspecies of rice (Oryza sativa L. ) cultivated in the Neolithic Age of the Taihu region, 26 samples of potsherd, burned soil and soil from Luojiajiao, Majiabang, Nanhebang, Lababang, Shuitianfan sites in Zhejiang Province and Longnan, Xujiawan sites in Jiangsu Province were analyzed for plant opals from motor cells of rice. The morphological characters of plant opals detected from those were investigated. Rice plant opals were found in 11 samples from threestages called Majiabang, Songze and Liangzhu Culture. Results of morphological analysis showed the vertical and horizontallength from the Songze and Liangzhu Culture have increased by 15. 73%, 15. 15 % and 11. 73 %, 15. 19% over those from theMajiabang Culture, respectively, indicating the rice to evolve into keng(japonica). Discriminant results indicated rice cultivated in the Songze and Liangzhu Culture belongs to keng(japonica). At earlier period of the Majiabang Culture, there were negative discriminant values, but the absolute value were very small, indicating they differ from hsien(indica) cultivated in present-day. Changes of Morphology of plant opals implied the rice cultivated in the earlier Neolithic Age to have a potentiality of evolving into keng (japonica ).
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