Starch grain evidence reveals early pottery function cooking plant foods in North China

Early pottery sherds excavated in northern China date back to more than 11,000 cal a BP, and are presumed to have been used as cooking vessels. There has been, however, no direct evidence to demonstrate this function. Here we report ancient starch grains recovered from carbonized residues adhering to the bases of flat-bottomed vessels excavated from the Zhuannian site dating more than 10,000 cal a BP in the North China Plain. This evidence demonstrates that early pottery was being used to cook cereal grains, particularly millets, and acorns. Because millets were in the process of domestication at this time, we propose that pottery invention in northern China may have been related to early farming activities.