Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Rice and the Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien homelands

George van Driem

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterResearch

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationDynamics of human diversity: the case of mainland Southeast Asia
    EditorsN J Enfield
    Place of PublicationCanberra, Australia
    PublisherAustralian National University
    Pages361-389
    Edition1
    ISBN (Print)9780858836389
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Publication series

    NamePacific linguistics
    Number627

    Keywords

    • Language in Time and Space (incl Historical Linguistics, Dialectology)

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Rice and the Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien homelands'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this