Page 100 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

68 C. Wu

Fig. 4.1 A map of the East Indies by William Dampier in 1697.
This map showed sea route outbound from Yuegang-Amoy to East Ocean Philippines and Canton
to South and West Ocean Siam and Malacca. Collected in A New Voyage Round the World,
London: Herman Moll. Cited from Tooley et al. (1968, p. 261)

4.1 The Domesticated Grains Imported from America
Enriched Farming Products of Ancient China

The domestication of grains and the development of agriculture had been the main
achievement of Neolithic revolution in the human history, greatly increasing the
species and amount of food for the growing population of the world. The devel-
oping of cultivated agriculture had promoted the social-cultural complication and
origin of early civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, the Ganges valley, the
lower reach of Yangtze River and Yellow River. The cross-border dissemination of
domesticated crop species since Neolithic age has enriched the diet and livelihood
of people all over the world (Fig. 4.2).
The archaeologists have discovered that the east and southeast Asia had been the
important center for ancient agricultural exchange. The cultivated rice farming had
originated in the watershed region of middle and lower reach of Yangtze River (!
!) since early Neolithic age, then gradually disseminated to lower reach of Yellow
River (!#) and eastern Asian islands, Indochina peninsula, southern Asia and
Africa. A series of cultivated crops originated in the western and central Asia such
as grapes, pomegranates, sesame, walnuts, broad beans, cucumbers, garlic and
pepper had also been brought to China across the silk road of the inner Asia,
greatly changing and enriching the agricultural content and living diet of ancient
Chinese people since the medieval age. Another international agricultural interac-
tion wave happened since the maritime globalization of 16th century. A group of
American domesticated plants, such as sweet potato, olive, potato, maize, tomato,
goober, tobacco, et cetera, were transferred, not only to Europe, but also to