A History of Agriculture in India v1.c14.s2.1

v1.c14.s2.1

It is the cereals—wheat, barley, rice, millets and maize—which have contributed most to the building up of the Neolithic culture. They yield nutritious food and the grains can be easily stored for a number of years. All the cereals have arisen from wild grasses, and wild ancestors of a number of them are known. One of the major differences between the cultivated forms and the wild ancestors is that in the latter the seed is shed as soon as it is ripe, whereas in the former the seeds remain enclosed in their husks and can only be separated by threshing. The cultivated forms possibly arose from a lethal mutation as a result of which non-shattering varieties developed, and they could be successfully harvested, threshed and winnowed. A fascinating history of cultivated plants has been built up by the discovery of carbonized seeds and impressions on potsherds from archaeological sites. The study of pollen has provided us with evidence of farming, inferred from the occurrence of cereal pollen or the pollen of weeds associated with cultivation. Sculptures and paintings showing agricultural operations also provide evidence of past agriculture. Other evidences are storage pits, pots, sickles, hoe-blades and saddle-querns.