Rice and the Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien homelands

Abstract

The locations of the Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien homelands have been tied to the origins of Asian rice cultivation. The lexical evidence supports the view that ancient Austroasiatics and ancient Hmong-Mien were the first rice cultivators. Historical linguistic insights shed light on the possible geographical location of the two respective homelands. Controversy regarding the origins of rice cultivation that has been waged since 1883 has, by and large, been resolved, though the story is complex. The palaeobotanical evidence is valuated in light of molecular genetic findings on Asian rice. The overall picture is enhanced by insights from the genetics of Asian human populations, including modern Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien language communities.