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Sesame Utilization in China: New Archaeobotanical Evidence from Xinjiang

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Abstract

Sesame Utilization in China: New Archaeobotanical Evidence from Xinjiang. A cache of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds, discovered in the Thousand Buddha Grottoes at Boziklik, Turpan, China, dating to ca. 700 years before present (BP), is hard evidence of their use in China since that time. Morphological and anatomical features suggest a white sesame cultivar. The sizeable quantity unearthed implies that sesame was a valued commodity that could provision the monks and enrich the diet of ancient inhabitants as an oil source.

芝麻在中国的利用:来自新疆的植物考古学证据.中国吐鲁番地区伯孜克里克千佛洞发现了一批距今约700年前的芝麻种子。这是中国古代栽培和利用芝麻的确凿证据。形态学和解剖学特征则鉴定其为白色类型芝麻。此次芝麻种子大量发现于佛寺内,说明其应该是僧侣们的油料来源,甚至可能在丰富当地先民的饮食结构方面扮演了重要角色。

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Xiaofei Xia for SEM service; Yiwen Gong provided literature search. The Strategic Priority Research Program – Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant Issues, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA05130501) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41102114) supported this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Scientific History and Archaeometry, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhenwei Qiu, Changsui Wang & Hongen Jiang

  2. The Laboratory of Human Evolution, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhenwei Qiu, Changsui Wang & Hongen Jiang

  3. Academia Turfanica of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Turpan, China

    Yongbing Zhang & Xiao Li

  4. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Dorothea Bedigian

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  1. Zhenwei Qiu
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Correspondence to Hongen Jiang.

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Submitted 12 February 2012; Accepted 14 May 2012; published online_______.

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Qiu, Z., Zhang, Y., Bedigian, D. et al. Sesame Utilization in China: New Archaeobotanical Evidence from Xinjiang. Econ Bot 66, 255–263 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-012-9204-5

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