Jump to content

Paddy field: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
→‎Korea: highlighting wki article
Citation bot (talk | contribs)
Altered title. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Spinixster | Category:Sustainable agriculture | #UCB_Category 104/173
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Flooded parcel of arable land used for growing semiaquatic rice}}
[[Image:Kakashi2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|A paddy field in Japan]]
{{Redirect-multi|2|Rice field|Wet rice|the Rice University stadium|Rice Track/Soccer Stadium|the porridge dish|Congee}}
A '''paddy field''' is a [[floodland|flooded parcel]] of [[arable land]] used for growing [[rice]] and other [[Aquatic plant|semiaquatic crops]]. Paddy fields are a typical feature of [[rice]]-growing countries of [[East Asia|east]] and [[southeast Asia]] including [[China]], [[Thailand]], [[Korea]], [[Japan]], [[Vietnam]], [[Taiwan]], [[Indonesia]], [[India]], and the [[Philippines]]. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as [[Piedmont]] and the [[Camargue]]. They can occur naturally along [[river]]s or [[marshes]], or can be constructed, even on hillsides, often with much [[manual labour|labor]] and materials. They require large quantities of [[water]] for [[irrigation]], which can be quite complex for a highly developed system of paddy fields. Flooding provides water essential to the growth of the crop. It also gives an environment favorable to the strain of rice being grown, and is hostile to many [[species]] of [[weed]]s.
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Pana Banaue Rice Terraces (Cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Banaue Rice Terraces]] of [[Luzon]], [[Philippines]], carved into steep mountainsides]]
[[File:Taro fields.JPG|thumb|[[Taro]] fields (''loʻi'') in [[Hanalei Valley]], [[Kaua'i]], [[Hawaii]]]]
[[File:Sawah di jatinangor.jpg|thumb|Paddy field placed under the valley of [[Bandung]], [[Indonesia]]]]
[[File:Cambodian farmers planting rice.jpg|thumb|Farmers planting rice in [[Cambodia]]]]
A '''paddy field''' is a flooded [[field (agriculture)|field]] of [[arable land]] used for growing [[Aquatic plant|semiaquatic]] crops, most notably [[rice]] and [[taro]]. It originates from the [[Neolithic]] rice-farming cultures of the [[Yangtze River]] basin in southern China, associated with [[Austronesian peoples#Neolithic China|pre-Austronesian]] and [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]] cultures. It was spread in prehistoric times by the [[Austronesian peoples#Migration from Taiwan|expansion]] of [[Austronesian peoples]] to [[Island Southeast Asia]], [[Madagascar]], [[Melanesia]], [[Micronesia]], and [[Polynesia]]. The technology was also acquired by other cultures in mainland Asia for rice farming, spreading to [[East Asia]], [[Mainland Southeast Asia]], and [[South Asia]].


Fields can be built into steep hillsides as [[Terrace (agriculture)|terraces]] or adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such as rivers or [[marsh]]es. They require a great deal of labor and materials to create and need large quantities of water for irrigation. [[Ox]]en and [[water buffalo]], adapted for life in [[wetland]]s, are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming.
The word "paddy" is derived from the [[Malay language|Malay]] word ''padi'', rice.

Paddy field farming remains the dominant form of growing rice in modern times. It is practiced extensively in [[Bangladesh]], [[Cambodia]], [[China]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Northern Iran]], [[Japan]], [[Laos]], [[Malaysia]], [[Mongolia]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[North Korea]], [[Pakistan]], the [[Philippines]], [[South Korea]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Thailand]], [[Taiwan]], and [[Vietnam]].<ref name="Anisia J Sang">{{cite journal|doi=10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2883115|last1=Sang|first1=Anisia Jati|last2=Tay|first2=Kai Meng|last3=Lim|first3=Chee Peng|last4=Saeid|first4=Nahavandi
|year=2018|title=Application of a Genetic-Fuzzy FMEA to Rainfed Lowland Rice Production in Sarawak: Environmental, Health, and Safety Perspectives|journal=IEEE Access|volume=6|pages=74628–74647|bibcode=2018IEEEA...674628S |doi-access=free|hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30118456|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It has also been introduced elsewhere since the colonial era, notably in [[Northern Italy]], the [[Camargue]] in [[France]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riz-camargue.com/pages-uk/moisparmois.html |title=Riz de Camargue, Silo de Tourtoulen, Riz blanc de Camargue, Riz et céréales de Camargue |publisher=Riz-camargue.com |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> and in [[Spain]], particularly in the [[Albufera de València]] wetlands in the [[Valencian Community]], the [[Ebro Delta]] in [[Catalonia]] and the [[Guadalquivir]] wetlands in [[Andalusia]], as well as along the eastern coast of [[Brazil]], the [[Artibonite Valley]] in [[Haiti]], [[Sacramento Valley]] in [[California]], and [[West Lothian]] in [[Scotland]] among other places.

Paddy cultivation should not be confused with cultivation of [[deepwater rice]], which is grown in flooded conditions with water more than 50&nbsp;cm (20&nbsp;in) deep for at least a month. Global paddies' emissions account for at least 10% of global [[methane emissions]]. [[Drip irrigation]] systems have been proposed as a possible environmental and commercial solution.

== Etymology ==
The word "paddy" is derived from the [[Malay language|Malay]]/[[Languages of Indonesia|Indonesian]] word ''padi'', meaning "rice plant",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=paddy|title=paddy|publisher=Merriam Webster|access-date=15 July 2007}}</ref> which is itself derived from [[Proto-Austronesian language|Proto-Austronesian]] *pajay ("rice in the field", "rice plant"). [[Cognate]]s include [[Amis language|Amis]] ''panay''; [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] ''pálay''; [[Kadazan Dusun language|Kadazan Dusun]] ''paai''; [[Javanese language|Javanese]] ''pari''; and [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] ''fa{{okina}}i'', among others.<ref name="Blust">{{cite web |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |last2=Trussel |first2=Stephen |title=''*pajay'' — rice in the field; rice plant |url=https://www.trussel2.com/acd/acd-s_p.htm#30474 |website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary |access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of rice cultivation}}
{{See also|Austronesian peoples|Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia}}

===Neolithic southern China===
[[File:Neolithic china.svg|thumb|Map of [[Neolithic China]]<br>(8500 to 1500 BC)]]
Genetic evidence shows that all forms of paddy rice, including both ''[[Indica rice|indica]]'' and ''[[Japonica rice|japonica]]'', spring from a domestication of the wild rice ''[[Oryza rufipogon]]'' by cultures associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien-speakers. This occurred 13,500 to 8,200 years ago south of the Yangtze River in present-day China.<ref name="pnas1">{{Cite journal | last1 = Molina | first1 = J. | last2 = Sikora | first2 = M. | last3 = Garud | first3 = N. | last4 = Flowers | first4 = J. M. | last5 = Rubinstein | first5 = S. | last6 = Reynolds | first6 = A. | last7 = Huang | first7 = P. | last8 = Jackson | first8 = S. | last9 = Schaal | first9 = B. A. | last10 = Bustamante | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1104686108 | first10 = C. D. | last11 = Boyko | first11 = A. R. | last12 = Purugganan | first12 = M. D. | title = Molecular evidence for a single evolutionary origin of domesticated rice | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 108 | issue = 20 | pages = 8351–6 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21536870| pmc = 3101000| bibcode = 2011PNAS..108.8351M | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="pnas1a">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1308942110| title = Archaeological and genetic insights into the origins of domesticated rice| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| volume = 111| issue = 17| pages = 6190–7| year = 2014| last1 = Gross | first1 = B. L.| last2 = Zhao | first2 = Z. | pmid=24753573 | pmc=4035933| bibcode = 2014PNAS..111.6190G| doi-access = free}}</ref>

[[File:Model of Liangzhu Ancient City.jpg|thumb|left|Model of a [[Liangzhu culture]] (3400 to 2250 BC) ancient city surrounded by a moat with rice paddies]]
There are two likely centers of domestication for rice as well as the development of the wet-field technology. The first is in the lower [[Yangtze River]], believed to be the homelands of the pre-Austronesians and possibly also the [[Kra–Dai-speaking peoples|Kra-Dai]], and associated with the [[Kuahuqiao site|Kuahuqiao]], [[Hemudu culture|Hemudu]], [[Majiabang culture|Majiabang]], [[Songze culture|Songze]], [[Liangzhu culture|Liangzhu]], and [[Maquiao culture|Maquiao]] [[Archaeological culture|cultures]].<ref name="Zhang2012">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Jianping |last2=Lu |first2=Houyuan |last3=Gu |first3=Wanfa |last4=Wu |first4=Naiqin |last5=Zhou |first5=Kunshu |last6=Hu |first6=Yayi |last7=Xin |first7=Yingjun |last8=Wang |first8=Can |last9=Kashkush |first9=Khalil |title=Early Mixed Farming of Millet and Rice 7800 Years Ago in the Middle Yellow River Region, China |journal=PLOS ONE |date=17 December 2012 |volume=7 |issue=12 |pages=e52146 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0052146|pmid=23284907 |pmc=3524165 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...752146Z |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="He2017"/><ref name="Bellwood2011">{{cite journal |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=The Checkered Prehistory of Rice Movement Southwards as a Domesticated Cereal—from the Yangzi to the Equator |journal=Rice |date=9 December 2011 |volume=4 |issue=3–4 |pages=93–103 |doi=10.1007/s12284-011-9068-9 |bibcode=2011Rice....4...93B |s2cid=44675525 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/81529950.pdf|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Hsieh2011">{{cite journal |last1=Hsieh |first1=Jaw-shu |last2=Hsing |first2=Yue-ie Caroline |last3=Hsu |first3=Tze-fu |last4=Li |first4=Paul Jen-kuei |last5=Li |first5=Kuang-ti |last6=Tsang |first6=Cheng-hwa |title=Studies on Ancient Rice—Where Botanists, Agronomists, Archeologists, Linguists, and Ethnologists Meet |journal=Rice |date=24 December 2011 |volume=4 |issue=3–4 |pages=178–183 |doi=10.1007/s12284-011-9075-x|bibcode=2011Rice....4..178H |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Li">{{cite journal|author1=Li, Hui |author2=Huang, Ying |author3=Mustavich, Laura F. |author4=Zhang, Fan |author5=Tan, Jing-Ze |author6=Wang, ling-E |author7=Qian, Ji |author8=Gao, Meng-He |author9=Jin, Li |year=2007 |title=Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River |journal=Human Genetics |volume=122 |issue=3–4 |pages=383&ndash;388 |doi=10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2 |url=http://www.humpopgenfudan.cn/p/E/E3.pdf |pmid=17657509 |s2cid=2533393 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214115924/http://www.humpopgenfudan.cn/p/E/E3.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-14 }}</ref> The second is in the middle Yangtze River, believed to be the homelands of the early Hmong-Mien speakers and associated with the [[Pengtoushan culture|Pengtoushan]], [[Nanmuyuan culture|Nanmuyuan]], [[Liulinxi culture|Liulinxi]], [[Daxi culture|Daxi]], [[Qujialing culture|Qujialing]], and [[Shijiahe culture|Shijiahe]] [[Archaeological culture|cultures]]. Both of these regions were heavily populated and had regular trade contacts with each other, as well as with early [[Austroasiatic]] speakers to the west, and early Kra-Dai speakers to the south, facilitating the spread of rice cultivation throughout southern China.<ref name="He2017"/><ref name="Bellwood2011"/><ref name="Li"/>
[[File:Spatial distribution of rice, millet and mixed farming sites with a boundary of rice and millet and possible centers of agriculture.png|thumb|Spatial distribution of rice, millet and mixed farming sites in [[Neolithic China]] (He ''et al.'', 2017)<ref name="He2017">{{cite journal |last1=He |first1=Keyang |last2=Lu |first2=Houyuan |last3=Zhang |first3=Jianping |last4=Wang |first4=Can |last5=Huan |first5=Xiujia |title=Prehistoric evolution of the dualistic structure mixed rice and millet farming in China |journal=The Holocene |date=7 June 2017 |volume=27 |issue=12 |pages=1885–1898 |doi=10.1177/0959683617708455 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317400332|bibcode=2017Holoc..27.1885H |s2cid=133660098 }}</ref>]]

The earliest paddy field found dates to 4330 BC, based on carbon dating of grains of rice and [[soil organic matter]] found at the Chaodun site in [[Kunshan]].<ref name="cabdirect.org">{{cite journal | last1 = Cao | first1 = Zhihong | last2 = Fu | first2 = Jianrong | last3 = Zou | first3 = Ping | last4 = Huang | first4 = Jing Fa | last5 = Lu | first5 = Hong | last6 = Weng| first6 = Jieping | last7 = Ding | first7 = Jinlong|title=Origin and chronosequence of paddy soils in China.|journal=Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science|date=August 2010|pages=39–42|url=http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20123011310.html|access-date=8 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="Bellwood1997Arch">{{cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago: Revised Edition |date=1997 |publisher=University of Hawai{{okina}}i Press |location=Honolulu |isbn=0824818830 |pages=205–211 |jstor=j.ctt24hf81 |chapter=Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago }}</ref> At Caoxieshan, a site of the Neolithic [[Majiabang culture]], archaeologists excavated paddy fields.<ref>Fujiwara, H. (ed.). ''Search for the Origin of Rice Cultivation: The Ancient Rice Cultivation in Paddy Fields at the Cao Xie Shan Site in China''. Miyazaki: Society for Scientific Studies on Cultural Property, 1996. (In Japanese and Chinese)</ref> Some archaeologists claim that Caoxieshan may date to 4000–3000 BC.<ref>Fujiwara 1996</ref><ref>Tsude, Hiroshi. Yayoi Farmers Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Agricultural Development in East Asia. ''Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association'' 21(5):53–59, 2001.</ref> There is archaeological evidence that unhusked rice was stored for the military and for burial with the deceased from the [[Neolithic]] period to the [[Han dynasty]] in China.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/fumi98.htm
|title = Expansion of Chinese Paddy Rice to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
|access-date = 6 August 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185652/http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/fumi98.htm
|archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref>

By the late Neolithic (3500 to 2500 BC), population in the rice cultivating centers had increased rapidly, centered around the [[Qujialing culture|Qujialing]]-[[Shijiahe culture|Shijiahe]] and [[Liangzhu culture|Liangzhu]] cultures. There was also evidence of intensive rice cultivation in paddy fields as well as increasingly sophisticated [[material culture]]s in these two regions. The number of settlements among the Yangtze cultures and their sizes increased, leading some archeologists to characterize them as [[State (polity)|true states]], with clearly advanced socio-political structures. However, it is unknown if they had centralized control.<ref name="Zhang2008"/><ref name="Zhang2013">{{cite book | last = Zhang | first = Chi | chapter = The Qujialing–Shijiahe culture in the middle Yangzi River valley | pages = 510–534 | title = A Companion to Chinese Archaeology | editor-first= Anne P. | editor-last = Underhill | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2013 | isbn = 9781118325780 }}</ref>

In the terminal Neolithic (2500 to 2000 BC), Shijiahe shrank in size, and Liangzhu disappeared altogether. This is largely believed to be the result of the southward expansion of the early Sino-Tibetan [[Longshan culture]]. Fortifications like walls (as well as extensive moats in Liangzhu cities) are common features in settlements during this period, indicating widespread conflict. This period also coincides with the southward movement of rice-farming cultures to the [[Lingnan]] and [[Fujian]] regions, as well as the southward migrations of the Austronesian, Kra-Dai, and [[Austroasiatic]]-speaking peoples to [[Mainland Southeast Asia]] and [[Island Southeast Asia]].<ref name="Zhang2008">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Chi |last2=Hung |first2=Hsiao-Chun |title=The Neolithic of Southern China – Origin, Development, and Dispersal |journal=Asian Perspectives |date=2008 |volume=47 |issue=2 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5105562.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Liu2012">{{cite book |last1=Liu |first1=Li |last2=Chen |first2=Xingcan |title=The Archaeology of China: From the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521643108}}</ref><ref name="Major2016">{{cite book |last1=Major |first1=John S. |last2=Cook |first2=Constance A. |title=Ancient China: A History |date=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317503668}}</ref>

===Austronesian expansion===
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|thumb|Expansion of Austronesian peoples<br>(3500 BC to AD 1200)]]
[[File:Likely routes of early rice transfer, and possible language family homelands (archaeological sites in China and SE Asia shown).png|thumb|left|Possible [[Urheimat|language family homelands]], and likely routes of early rice transfer (ca. 3500 to 500 BC). The approximate coastlines during the early [[Holocene]] are shown in lighter blue. (Bellwood, 2011)<ref name="Bellwood2011"/>]]
The spread of ''japonica'' rice cultivation and paddy field agriculture to Southeast Asia started with the migrations of the Austronesian [[Dapenkeng culture]] into [[Taiwan]] between 3500 and 2000 BC. The Nanguanli site in Taiwan, dated to ca. 2800 BC, has yielded numerous carbonized remains of both rice and millet in waterlogged conditions, indicating intensive wetland rice cultivation and dryland millet cultivation.<ref name="Bellwood2011"/>

[[File:KITLV 40091 - Kassian Céphas - Relief of the hidden base of Borobudur - 1890-1891.jpg|thumb|right|Bas-relief of Karmawibhanga of 9th century [[Borobudur]] describe [[rice barn]] and rice plants being infested by mouse pestilence. [[Rice farming]] has a long history in [[Indonesia]].]]

From about 2000 to 1500 BC, the Austronesian expansion began, with settlers from Taiwan moving south to migrate to [[Luzon]] in the [[Philippines]], bringing rice cultivation technologies with them. From Luzon, Austronesians rapidly colonized the rest of [[Maritime Southeast Asia]], moving westwards to [[Borneo]], the [[Malay Peninsula]] and [[Sumatra]]; and southwards to [[Sulawesi]] and [[Java]]. By 500 BC, there is evidence of intensive wetland rice agriculture already established in Java and [[Bali]], especially near very fertile volcanic islands.<ref name="Bellwood2011"/>

Rice did not survive the Austronesian voyages into [[Micronesia]] and [[Polynesia]]; however, wet-field agriculture was transferred to the cultivation of other crops, most notably for [[taro]] cultivation. The Austronesian [[Lapita culture]] also came into contact with the non-Austronesian ([[Indigenous people of New Guinea|Papuan]]) early agriculturists of [[New Guinea]] and introduced wetland farming techniques to them. In turn, they assimilated their range of indigenous cultivated fruits and tubers before spreading further eastward to [[Island Melanesia]] and [[Polynesia]].<ref name="Bellwood2011"/>

Rice and wet-field agriculture were also introduced to [[Madagascar]], the [[Comoros]], and the coast of [[East Africa]] around the 1st millennium AD by Austronesian settlers from the [[Greater Sunda Islands]].<ref name="Beaujard2011">{{cite journal |last1=Beaujard |first1=Philippe |title=The first migrants to Madagascar and their introduction of plants: linguistic and ethnological evidence |journal=Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa |date=August 2011 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=169–189 |doi=10.1080/0067270X.2011.580142|s2cid=55763047 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00706173/file/Beaujard.azania2.pdf }}</ref>

=== Korea===
There are ten archaeologically excavated rice paddy fields in Korea. The two oldest are the Okhyun and Yaumdong sites, found in [[Ulsan]], dating to the early [[Mumun pottery period]].<ref>Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. ''Antiquity'' 77(295):87–95, 2003.</ref>

Paddy field farming goes back thousands of years in Korea. A [[pit-house]] at the Daecheon-ni site yielded carbonized rice grains and radiocarbon dates, indicating that rice cultivation in dry-fields may have begun as early as the Middle [[Jeulmun pottery period]] (c. 3500–2000 BC) in the [[Korean Peninsula]].<ref>Crawford and Lee 2003</ref> Ancient paddy fields have been carefully unearthed in Korea by institutes such as [[Kyungnam University]] Museum (KUM) of [[Masan]]. They excavated paddy field features at the Geumcheon-ni Site near [[Miryang]], [[South Gyeongsang Province]]. The paddy field feature was found next to a pit-house that is dated to the latter part of the Early Mumun pottery period (c. 1100–850 BC). KUM has conducted excavations, that have revealed similarly dated paddy field features, at Yaeum-dong and Okhyeon, in modern-day [[Ulsan]].<ref>Bale, Martin T. Archaeology of Early Agriculture in Korea: An Update on Recent Developments. ''Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association'' 21(5):77–84, 2001.</ref>

The earliest Mumun features were usually located in low-lying narrow gullies, that were naturally swampy and fed by the local stream system. Some Mumun paddy fields in flat areas were made of a series of squares and rectangles, separated by bunds approximately 10&nbsp;cm in height, while terraced paddy fields consisted of long irregular shapes that followed natural contours of the land at various levels.<ref>Bale 2001</ref><ref>Kwak, Jong-chul. Urinara-eui Seonsa – Godae Non Bat Yugu [Dry- and Wet-field Agricultural Features of the Korean Prehistoric].In ''Hanguk Nonggyeong Munhwa-eui Hyeongseong'' [The Formation of Agrarian Societies in Korea]: 21–73. Papers of the 25th National Meetings of the [[Korean Archaeological Society]], Busan, 2001</ref>

Mumun Period rice farmers used all of the elements that are present in today's paddy fields, such as terracing, bunds, canals, and small reservoirs. We can grasp some paddy-field farming techniques of the Middle Mumun (c. 850–550 BC), from the well-preserved wooden tools excavated from archaeological rice fields at the Majeon-ni Site. However, iron tools for paddy-field farming were not introduced until sometime after 200 BC. The spatial scale of paddy-fields increased, with the regular use of iron tools, in the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] Period (c. AD 300/400-668).{{Cn|date=May 2024}}


==Culture==
===Japan===
===Japan===
The first paddy fields in Japan date to the Early [[Yayoi period]] (300 BC – 250 AD).<ref>Barnes, Gina L. Paddy Soils Now and Then. ''World Archaeology'' 22(1):1–17, 1990.</ref> The Early Yayoi has been re-dated,<ref name="Shinya">{{cite journal |url=http://www.seaa-web.org/bul-essay-01.htm |title=A Comment on the Yayoi Period Dating Controversy |journal=Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology |surname=Shōda |given=Shinya |year=2007 |volume=1 }}</ref> and based on studies of early Japanese paddy formations in Kyushu it appears that wet-field rice agriculture in Japan was directly adopted from the Lower Yangtze river basin in Eastern China.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}
The [[acid]]ic [[soil]] common in Japan due to [[volcano|volcanic]] eruptions made the paddy field the most productive farming method. Until recently, this led to a conclusion that no farming existed in Japan before rice came from China. But this was overturned in the late [[20th century]] by discoveries of farming from the late [[Jomon period]]. Paddy field is represented by the [[kanji]], &#30000;(commonly read as ''ta'') that has had a strong influence on Japanese culture. A testimonial fact is that &#30000; means a piece of farmland where crops are grown in China, but it is used to represent only the paddy field in Japan. Instead, Japanese made a new kanji &#30033;(''hatake'') for those farmland not used to grow rice. Many consider paddy fields as a part of the [[natural]] [[landscape]] and a classic scene of Japanese countryside is of paddy fields tended by hard-working grandparents. The oldest sample of writing recovered is widely credited to the letter &#30000;, lit. rice paddy field found on a pottery in an archeaological site at the present day [[Matsusaka, Mie]] dating back to the late [[2nd century]].

== Culture ==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right;"
|+Top 20 rice producers by country—2012<br />(million tonnes)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx | title=Countries by commodity (Rice, paddy)| last=fao.org (FAOSTAT)| access-date=11 February 2014}}</ref>
|-
| China || style="text-align:right;"| 204.3
|-
| India || style="text-align:right;"| 152.6
|-
| Indonesia || style="text-align:right;"| 69.0
|-
| Vietnam || style="text-align:right;"| 43.7
|-
| Thailand || style="text-align:right;"| 37.8
|-
| Bangladesh || style="text-align:right;"| 33.9
|-
| Myanmar || style="text-align:right;"| 33.0
|-
| Philippines || style="text-align:right;"| 18.0
|-
| Brazil || style="text-align:right;"| 11.5
|-
| Japan || style="text-align:right;"| 10.7
|-
| Pakistan || style="text-align:right;"| 9.4
|-
| Cambodia || style="text-align:right;"| 9.3
|-
| United States || style="text-align:right;"| 9.0
|-
| Korea || style="text-align:right;"| 6.4
|-
| Egypt || style="text-align:right;"| 5.9
|-
| Nepal || style="text-align:right;"| 5.1
|-
| Nigeria || style="text-align:right;"| 4.8
|-
| Madagascar || style="text-align:right;"| 4.0
|-
| Sri Lanka || style="text-align:right;"| 3.8
|-
| Laos || style="text-align:right;"| 3.5
|-
|colspan=2|''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization''
|}

=== China ===
[[File:Terrace field yunnan china edit.jpg|thumb|left|Rice terraces in [[Yuanyang County, Yunnan]], China]]
Although China's agricultural output is the largest in the world, only about 15% of its total land area can be cultivated. About 75% of the cultivated area is used for food crops. Rice is China's most important crop, raised on about 25% of the cultivated area. Most rice is grown south of the [[Huai River]], in the Yangtze valley, the [[Zhu Jiang]] delta, and in [[Yunnan]], [[Guizhou]], and [[Sichuan]] provinces.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

Rice appears to have been used by the Early [[Neolithic]] populations of Lijiacun and Yunchanyan in China.<ref name="Crawford and Shen 1998">Crawford and Shen 1998</ref> Evidence of possible rice cultivation from ca. 11,500 BP has been found, however it is still questioned whether the rice was indeed being cultivated, or instead being [[Hunter-gatherer|gathered]] as wild rice.<ref name="Harrington">{{cite journal |last=Harrington |first=Spencer P.M. |date=11 June 1997 |title=Earliest Rice |journal=Archaeology |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America | url =http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/rice.html |quote=Rice cultivation began in China ca. 11,500 years ago, some 3,500 years earlier than previously believed}}</ref> Bruce Smith, an archaeologist at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in Washington, D.C., who has written on the origins of agriculture, says that evidence has been mounting that the Yangtze was probably the site of the earliest rice cultivation.<ref name="Normile">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.275.5298.309|last=Normile|first=Dennis|year=1997|title=Yangtze seen as earliest rice site|journal=Science|volume=275|pages=309–310|issue=5298|s2cid=140691699}}</ref> In 1998, Crawford & Shen reported that the earliest of 14 AMS or radiocarbon dates on rice from at least nine Early to Middle Neolithic sites is no older than 7000 BC, that rice from the [[Hemudu]] and Luojiajiao sites indicates that rice domestication likely began before 5000 BC, but that most sites in China from which rice remains have been recovered are younger than 5000 BC.<ref name="Crawford and Shen 1998" />
[[File:Longsheng pano.jpg|thumb|left|Panorama of the Longji terrace, one of the Longsheng rice terraces of [[Guangxi]], China]]
During the [[Spring and Autumn period]] (722–481 BC), two revolutionary improvements in [[Agricultural science|farming technology]] took place. One was the use of [[History of ferrous metallurgy#Cast iron in China|cast iron tools]] and [[Working animal|beasts of burden]] to pull plows, and the other was the large-scale harnessing of rivers and development of [[water conservation]] projects. [[Sunshu Ao]] of the 6th century BC and [[Ximen Bao]] of the 5th century BC are two of the earliest hydraulic engineers from China, and their works were focused upon improving [[irrigation]] systems.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 271">[[Joseph Needham|Needham, Joseph]] (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Page 271.</ref> These developments were widely spread during the ensuing [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC), culminating in the enormous [[Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System]] engineered by [[Li Bing (Qin)|Li Bing]] by 256 BC for the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]] in ancient [[Sichuan]]. During the [[Eastern Jin]] (317–420) and the [[Northern and Southern Dynasties]] (420–589), land-use became more intensive and efficient, rice was grown twice a year and cattle began to be used for [[plowing]] and [[Fertilizer|fertilization]].

By about 750, 75% of China's population lived north of the Yangtze, but by 1250, 75% of China's population lived south of it. Such large-scale internal migration was possible due to introduction of quick-ripening strains of rice from Vietnam suitable for multi-cropping.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DF-N_lXjlL8C&q=saudi+arabia+economy&pg=PA20 |title=The World Economy, Angus Maddison, p.20, ISBN 92-64-02261-9 |date= 21 September 2006|access-date=25 April 2013|isbn=9789264022614 |last1=Angus |first1=Maddison |publisher=OECD }}</ref>

Famous rice paddies in China include the [[Longsheng Rice Terraces]] and the fields of [[Yuanyang County, Yunnan]].{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== India ===
[[File:Karthalipalem.jpg|thumb|Rice fields with seedlings planted in the village of [[Karthalipalem]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]] ]]
India has the largest paddy output in the world and is also the largest exporter of rice in the world as of 2020. In India, [[West Bengal]] is the largest rice producing state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/top-ten/india-crops/rice.html |title=Top 10 Rice Producing States of India, Indian States with Highest Rice Production |publisher=Mapsofindia.com |date=17 January 2012 |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> Paddy fields are a common sight throughout India, both in the northern [[Indo-Gangetic Plain|Gangetic Plains]] and the southern peninsular plateaus. Paddy is cultivated at least twice a year in most parts of India, the two seasons being known as [[Rabi crop|Rabi]] and [[Kharif crop|Kharif]] respectively. The former cultivation is dependent on irrigation, while the latter depends on [[Monsoon of South Asia|the Monsoon]]. The paddy cultivation plays a major role in socio-cultural life of rural India. Many regional festivals celebrate the harvest, such as [[Onam]], [[Bihu]], [[Pongal (festival)|Thai Pongal]], [[Makar Sankranti]], and [[Nabanna]]. The [[Kaveri]] delta region of [[Thanjavur]] is historically known as the rice bowl of [[Tamil Nadu]], and [[Kuttanad|Kuttanadu]] is called the rice bowl of [[Kerala]]. [[Gangavati, Karnataka|Gangavathi]] is known as the rice bowl of [[Karnataka]].{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Indonesia ===
[[File:KerbauJawa.jpg|thumb|left|[[domestic buffalo|Water buffalos]] were formerly used to plough muddy paddy fields in Indonesia although the use of mechanised methods, such as small powered ploughs, has become much more common in recent years.]]
{{main|Rice production in Indonesia}}
Prime Javanese paddies yield roughly 6 metric tons of unmilled rice (2.5 metric tons of milled rice) per [[hectare]]. When irrigation is available, rice farmers typically plant [[Green Revolution]] rice varieties allowing three growing seasons per year. Since fertilizer and pesticide are relatively expensive inputs, farmers typically plant seeds in a very small plot. Three weeks following germination, the 15-20 centimetre (6–8&nbsp;in) stalks are picked and replanted at greater separation, in a backbreaking manual procedure.

Rice harvesting in [[Central Java]] is often performed not by owners or [[Sharecropping|sharecroppers]] of paddies, but rather by itinerant middlemen, whose small firms specialize in the harvest, transport, milling, and distribution of rice.

The fertile volcanic soil of much of the Indonesian archipelago—particularly the islands of Java and Bali—has made rice a central dietary staple. Steep terrain on Bali resulted in complex irrigation systems, locally called ''[[Subak (irrigation)|subak]]'', to manage water storage and drainage for rice terraces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/workingpapers/03-05-030.pdf |title=Lansing and Miller |access-date=25 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327005944/http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/workingpapers/03-05-030.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009}}</ref>

=== Italy ===
[[File:Mantovano banner.jpg|thumb|Paddy fields near [[Mantua]]]]
Rice is grown in Northern Italy, especially in the valley of the [[Po (river)|Po River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/learning/main/netnotes/sectionid14_printyes.htm |title=Channel 4 notes for schools |publisher=Channel4.com |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> The paddy fields are irrigated by fast-flowing streams descending from the [[Alps]]. In the 19th century and much of the 20th century, the paddy fields were farmed by the ''[[mondina|mondine]]'', a subculture of seasonal rice paddy workers composed mostly of poor women.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Japan ===
[[File:Kakashi2.jpg|thumb|left|Paddy field [[scarecrow]]s in Japan]]
The acidic soil conditions common in Japan due to volcanic eruptions have made the paddy field the most productive farming method. Paddy fields are represented by the [[kanji]] {{lang|ja|田}} (commonly read as ''ta'' or as ''den'') that has had a strong influence on Japanese culture. In fact, the character {{lang|ja|田}}, which originally meant 'field' in general, is used in Japan exclusively to refer to paddy fields. One of the oldest samples of writing in Japan is widely credited to the kanji {{lang|ja|田}} found on pottery at the archaeological site of [[Matsusaka, Mie|Matsutaka]] in [[Mie Prefecture]] that dates to the late 2nd century.

''Ta'' ({{lang|ja|田}}) is used as a part of many [[Japanese place names|place names]] as well as in many family names. Most of these places are somehow related to the paddy field and, in many cases, are based on the history of a particular location. For example, where a river runs through a village, the place east of the river may be called ''Higashida'' ({{lang|ja|東田}}), literally "east paddy field." A place with a newly irrigated paddy field, especially those made during or after the [[Edo period]], may be called ''Nitta'' or ''Shinden'' (both {{lang|ja|新田}}), "new paddy field." In some places, lakes and marshes were likened to a paddy field and were named with ''ta'', like ''Hakkōda'' ({{lang|ja|八甲田}}).

Today, many family names have ''ta'' as a component, a practice which can be largely attributed to a government edict in the early [[Meiji Period]] which required all citizens to have a family name. Many chose a name based on some geographical feature associated with their residence or occupation, and as nearly three-fourths of the population were farmers, many made family names using ''ta''. Some common examples are ''[[Tanaka (disambiguation)|Tanaka]]'' ({{lang|ja|田中}}), literally meaning "in the paddy field;" ''[[Nakata (disambiguation)|Nakata]]'' ({{lang|ja|中田}}), "middle paddy field;" ''[[Kawada (disambiguation)|Kawada]]'' (川田), "river paddy field;" and ''Furuta'' ({{lang|ja|古田}}), "old paddy field."{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

In recent years, rice consumption in Japan has fallen and many rice farmers are increasingly elderly. The government has subsidized rice production since the 1970s, and favors [[Protectionism|protectionist]] policies regarding cheaper imported rice.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=348969&story_id=15108648 |title=Economist.com |newspaper=The Economist|date=17 December 2009 |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Korea ===
[[File:Rice fields in Namwon.jpg|thumb|Paddy field near [[Namwon]], South Korea, early June]]
Arable land in small alluvial flats of most rural river valleys in South Korea are dedicated to paddy-field farming. Farmers assess paddy fields for any necessary repairs in February. Fields may be rebuilt, and [[bunding|bund]] breaches are repaired. This work is carried out until mid-March, when warmer spring weather allows the farmer to buy or grow rice seedlings. They are transplanted (usually by [[rice transplanter]]) from the indoors into freshly flooded paddy fields in May. Farmers tend and weed their paddy fields through the summer until around the time of [[Chuseok]], a traditional holiday held on 15 August of the [[Lunar Calendar]] (circa mid-September on the Solar Calendar). The harvest begins in October. Coordinating the harvest can be challenging because many Korean farmers have small paddy fields in a number of locations around their villages, and modern harvesting machines are sometimes shared between extended family members. Farmers usually dry the harvested grains in the sun before bringing them to market.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

The [[Hanja]] character for 'field', ''jeon'' ({{korean|hangul=전|hanja=田}}), is found in some place names, especially small farming townships and villages. However, the specific Korean term for 'paddy' is a purely Korean word, "non" ({{korean|hangul=논}}).{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Madagascar ===
[[File:Baobab and rice field.jpg|thumb|[[Adansonia|Baobab]] and rice field near [[Morondava]], Madagascar]]
In [[Madagascar]], the average annual consumption of rice is 130&nbsp;kg per person, one of the largest in the world.

According to a 1999 study of UPDRS / FAO:

The majority of rice is related to irrigation (1,054,381 ha). The choice of methods conditioning performance is determined by the variety and quality control of water.

The ''[[Slash and burn|tavy]]'' is traditionally the culture of flooded [[upland rice]] on burning of cleared natural rain forest (135,966&nbsp;ha). Criticized as being the cause of deforestation, ''tavy'' is still widely practiced by farmers in Madagascar, who find a good compromise between climate risks, availability of labour and food security.

By extension, the ''tanety'', which literally means "hill," is also growing upland rice, carried out on the grassy slopes that have been deforested for the production of charcoal (139,337&nbsp;ha).

Among the many varieties, rice of Madagascar includes: ''Vary lava'' - a translucent long and large grain rice, considered a luxury rice; ''Vary Makalioka'' - a translucent long and thin grain rice; ''Vary Rojofotsy'' - a half-long grain rice; and ''Vary mena'', or red rice, exclusive to Madagascar.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Malaysia ===
[[File:YosriSawahPadi1.jpg|thumb|Paddy field in the state of [[Terengganu]], Malaysia]]
Paddy fields can be found in most states on the [[Malaysian Peninsula]], with most of the fields being located in the northern states such as [[Kedah]], [[Perlis]], [[Perak]], and [[Penang]]. Paddy fields can also be found on Malaysia's east coast region, in [[Kelantan]] and [[Terengganu]]. The central state of [[Selangor]] also has its fair share of paddy fields, especially in the districts of [[Kuala Selangor District|Kuala Selangor]] and [[Sabak Bernam District|Sabak Bernam]].{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

Before Malaysia became heavily reliant on its industrial output, people were mainly involved in agriculture, especially in the production of rice. It was for that reason, that people usually built their houses next to paddy fields. The very spicy [[chili pepper]] that is often eaten in Malaysia, the [[bird's eye chili]], is locally called ''cili padi'', literally "paddy chili". Some research pertaining to Rainfed lowland rice in [[Sarawak]] has been reported.<ref name="Anisia J Sang"/>

=== Myanmar ===
[[File:Burmarice.JPG|thumb|Paddy fields in Myanmar]]
[[Rice production in Myanmar|Rice is grown in Myanmar]] primarily in three areas – the [[Irrawaddy Delta]], the area along and the delta of the [[Kaladan River]], and the Central plains around [[Mandalay]], though there has been an increase in rice farming in [[Shan State]] and [[Kachin State]] in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Increasing rice production in Myanmar|url=https://www.unops.org/english/News/UNOPS-in-action/Pages/Increasing-rice-production-in-Myanmar.aspx|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925213758/https://www.unops.org/english/News/UNOPS-in-action/Pages/Increasing-rice-production-in-Myanmar.aspx|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Up until the later 1960s, Myanmar was the main exporter of rice. Termed the rice basket of Southeast Asia, much of the rice grown in Myanmar does not rely on fertilizers and pesticides, thus, although "organic" in a sense, it has been unable to cope with population growth and other rice economies which utilized fertilizers.

Rice is now grown in all the three seasons of Myanmar, though primarily in the [[Monsoon]] season – from June to October. Rice grown in the delta areas relies heavily on the river water and sedimented minerals from the northern mountains, whilst the rice grown in the central regions require irrigation from the [[Irrawaddy River]].

The fields are tilled when the first rains arrive – traditionally measured at 40 days after [[Thingyan]], the [[Burmese New Year]] – around the beginning of June. In modern times, tractors are used, but traditionally, buffalos were employed. The rice plants are planted in nurseries and then transplanted by hand into the prepared fields. The rice is then harvested in late November – "when the rice bends with age". Most of the rice planting and harvesting is done by hand. The rice is then threshed and stored, ready for the mills.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Nepal ===
[[File:Paddy Planting.JPG|thumb|Women planting rice in Nepal]]
In Nepal, rice (Nepali: धान, Dhaan) is grown in the [[Terai#Terai in Nepal|Terai]] and hilly regions. It is mainly grown during the [[Geography of Nepal#Climate|summer monsoon in Nepal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.new-ag.info/en/country/profile.php?a=935|title=New Agriculturist: Country profile - Nepal|website=www.new-ag.info}}</ref>

=== Philippines ===
[[File:Battad Rice Terraces, Banaue Ifugao.jpg|thumb|left|Batad Rice Terraces in [[Banaue, Ifugao]], Philippines]]

Paddy fields are a common sight in the Philippines. Several vast paddy fields exist in the [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]] of [[Ifugao]], [[Nueva Ecija]], [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]], [[Cagayan]], [[Bulacan]], [[Quezon]], and other provinces. [[Nueva Ecija]] is considered the main rice growing province of the [[Philippines]].{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

The [[Banaue Rice Terraces]] are an example of paddy fields in the country. They are located in [[Banaue]] in Northern [[Luzon]], Philippines and were built by the [[Ifugaos]] 2,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722 |title=Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref> Streams and springs found in the mountains were tapped and channeled into irrigation canals that run downhill through the rice terraces. Other notable [[Philippine]] paddy fields are the Batad Rice Terraces, the Bangaan Rice Terraces, the Mayoyao Rice Terraces and the Hapao Rice Terraces.<ref name="Wow">{{cite web |url=http://www.tourism.gov.ph/explore_phil/place_details.asp?content=famousefor&province=74 |title=Error |access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref>

Located at Barangay Batad in Banaue, the Batad Rice Terraces are shaped like an [[amphitheatre]], and can be reached by a 12-kilometer ride from Banaue Hotel and a 2-hour hike uphill through mountain trails. The Bangaan Rice Terraces portray the typical Ifugao community, where the livelihood activities are within the village and its surroundings. The Bangaan Rice Terraces are accessible by a one-hour ride from Poblacion, Banaue, then a 20-minute trek down to the village. It can be viewed best from the road to [[Mayoyao]]. The Mayoyao Rice Terraces are located at Mayoyao, 44 kilometers away from Poblacion, Banaue. The town of [[Mayoyao]] lies in the midst of these rice terraces. All dikes are tiered with flat stones. The Hapao Rice Terraces are within 55 kilometers from the capital town of [[Lagawe]]. Other [[Ifugao]] stone-walled rice terraces are located in the municipality of [[Hungduan]].<ref name=Wow />

=== Sri Lanka ===
[[File:Paddy field in Sammanthurai, Ampara, Sri Lanka.JPG|thumb|A paddy field in [[Sammanthurai]], [[Ampara District]], [[Sri Lanka]]]]
[[Rice production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan paddy cultivation]] history dates back to more than 2000 years ago. The historical reports say that Sri Lanka is regarded as the "paddy store of the east" because it produced an excessive quantity of rice. Paddy cultivation can be found all over the island and a considerable amount of land is allocated for it. Both upcountry and low country wetlands use paddy cultivation. The majority of paddy land is in the dry zone, and it uses special irrigation systems for cultivation. The water storing tank called "Wewa" facilitates a supply of water to paddy lands in the cultivation period. [[Agriculture in Sri Lanka]] mainly depends on rice production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/country-specific/asia/rice-knowledge-for-sri-lanka|title=Rice Knowledge for Sri Lanka - IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank|website=www.knowledgebank.irri.org}}</ref> Sri Lanka sometimes exports rice to its neighboring countries. Around 1.5 million hectares of land are cultivated in Sri Lanka for paddy in 2008/2009 maha: 64% of which is cultivated during the dry season and 35% cultivated during the wet season. Around 879,000 farmer families are engaged in paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. They make up 20% of the country's population and 32% of the employment.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

=== Thailand ===
[[File:2006 1002 nan thailand rice.jpg|thumb|A small hut in between rice paddies on the outskirts of the town of [[Nan, Thailand]]]]
[[Rice production in Thailand]] represents a significant portion of the [[Economy of Thailand|Thai economy]]. It uses over half of the farmable land area and labor force in Thailand.<ref>Country Profile: Thailand. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Thailand.pdf lcweb2.loc.gov] 7 (July 2007).</ref>

Thailand has a strong tradition of rice production. It has the fifth-largest amount of land used for rice [[Tillage|cultivation]] in the world and is the world's largest exporter of rice.<ref>Thailand backs away from rice cartel plan." The International Herald Tribune 7 May 2008: 12. 2 February 2009, [http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T5677060145&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T5677060151&cisb=22_T5677060150&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8357&docNo=6 lexisnexis.com]</ref> Thailand has plans to further increase its land available for rice production, with a goal of adding 500,000 [[hectare]]s to the 9.2&nbsp;million hectares of rice-growing areas already cultivated.<ref name="lexisnexis.com">"Rice strain is cause of comparatively low productivity." The Nation (Thailand) 16 April 2008. 2 February 2009, [http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/search/homesubmitForm.do lexisnexis.com]</ref> The [[Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (Thailand)|Thai Ministry of Agriculture]] expected rice production to yield around 30 million tons of rice for 2008.<ref name="ghost">Nirmal, Ghost. "Thailand to set aside more land for farming; It plans to increase rice production and stop conversion of agricultural land." The Straits Times (Singapore) 24 April 2008.</ref> The most produced strain of rice in Thailand is [[jasmine rice]], which has a significantly lower [[Crop yield|yield rate]] than other types of rice, but also normally fetches more than double the price of other [[strain (biology)|strains]] in a global market.<ref name="lexisnexis.com" />

=== Vietnam ===
[[File:Canh-dong-Viet.JPG|thumb|left|A rice field in Vietnam]]

Rice fields in Vietnam (''ruộng'' or ''cánh đồng'' in Vietnamese) are the predominant land use in the valley of the [[Red River (Vietnam)|Red River]] and the [[Mekong Delta]]. In the [[Red River Delta]] of northern Vietnam, control of seasonal river flooding is achieved by an extensive network of [[Levee|dykes]] which over the centuries total some 3000&nbsp;km. In the [[Mekong Delta]] of southern Vietnam, there is an interlacing drainage and irrigation canal system that has become the symbol of this area. The canals additionally serve as transportation routes, allowing farmers to bring their produce to market. In Northwestern Vietnam, [[Thai people]] built their ''"[[valley culture]]"'' based on the cultivation of [[glutinous rice]] planted in upland fields, requiring terracing of the slopes.

The primary festival related to the agrarian cycle is ''"lễ hạ điền"'' (literally "descent into the fields") held as the start of the planting season in hope of a bountiful harvest. Traditionally, the event was officiated with much pomp. The monarch carried out the ritual plowing of the first furrow while local dignitaries and farmers followed suit. ''Thổ địa'' (deities of the earth), ''thành hoàng làng'' (the village patron spirit), [[Than Nong|Thần Nông]] (god of agriculture), and ''thần lúa'' (god of rice plants) were all venerated with prayers and offerings.

In colloquial [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], wealth is frequently associated with the vastness of the individual's land holdings. Paddy fields so large as for "storks to fly with their wings out-stretched" ("''đồng lúa thẳng cánh cò bay''") can be heard as a common metaphor. Wind-blown undulating rice plants across a paddy field in literary Vietnamese is termed figuratively "waves of rice plants" ("''sóng lúa''").{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}


== Ecology ==
''Ta''(&#30000;) is used as a part of a name in many places as well as in many family [[name]]s. Most of these places are somehow related to the paddy field and in many cases, are based on the history of a particular location. For example, where a river runs through a village, the place east of river may be called ''Higashida''(&#26481;&#30000;), lit. east paddy field and the opposite side ''Nishida''(&#35199;&#30000;), lit. west paddy field. A place with a newly irrgated paddy field, especially those during or later than [[Edo period]], may be called ''Nitta'' or ''Shinden'' (both &#26032;&#30000;), lit. new paddy field. In some places, lakes and marshes were likened to a paddy field and were named with ''ta'', like ''Hakk&#333;da''(&#20843;&#30002;&#30000;).
Paddy fields are a major source of [[atmospheric methane]] which contributes to [[global warming]], having been estimated to contribute in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes of the gas per annum.<ref>{{cite web|title=Methane Sources – Rice Paddies|url=http://www.ghgonline.org/methanerice.htm|access-date=15 July 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2 May 2007|title=Scientists blame global warming on rice|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/02/Worldandnation/Scientists_blame_glob.shtml|access-date=25 April 2013|publisher=Sptimes.com}}</ref> Studies have shown that this can be significantly reduced while also boosting [[crop yield]] by draining the paddies to allow the soil to aerate to interrupt methane production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shifts in rice farming practices in China reduce greenhouse gas methane|website=[[Goddard Space Flight Center]] |url=http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/1204paddies.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030111112837/http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/1204paddies.html|archive-date=11 January 2003|access-date=19 December 2002}}</ref> Studies have also shown the variability in assessment of methane emission using local, regional and global factors and calling for better inventorization based on micro level data.<ref>Mishra S. N., Mitra S., Rangan L, Dutta S., and Pooja. (2012). [http://www.agricultureandfoodsecurity.com/content/1/1/16 Exploration of 'hot-spots' of methane and nitrous oxide emission from the agriculture fields of Assam, India]. ''Agriculture and Food Security''. 1/16. doi:10.1186/2048-7010-1-16. </ref>


Rice paddies are responsible for 10% of global methane emissions, roughly equal to the emissions of the aviation industry.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Surkes |first=Sue |date=10 May 2021 |title=Israel's drip irrigation pioneers aim to do away with flooded rice fields |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-drip-irrigation-pioneers-aim-to-do-away-with-flooded-rice-fields/}}</ref> Drip irrigation systems developed by [[Netafim]] and N-Drip were introduced in several countries and according to the Times of Israel can reduce up to 85% of emissions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wrobel |first=Sharon |date=21 June 2023 |title=Agritech firm N-Drip raises $44 million in Liechtenstein-led funding round |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/agritech-firm-n-drip-raises-44-million-in-liechtenstein-led-funding-round/ |work=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref>
[[Image:Flooded paddy field in Wu-chih Taiwan.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Paddy field prior to planting, in [[Taiwan]]]]
Many family names have ''ta'' as a part. On early [[Meiji period]], the government ordered that all Japanese to have a family name and many chose to have one based on or near the place they lived or the job they had. With nearly three fourth of population being farmers, many family names were made using ''ta''. Some of such family names are ''[[Tanaka]]''(&#30000;&#20013;) and ''Nakata''(&#20013;&#30000;), lit. middle of paddy field, ''Kawata''(&#24029;&#30000;), lit. paddy field by a river, and ''Furuta''(&#21476;&#30000;), lit. old paddy field.


===Korea===
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Paddy field stump after crop Japan.jpg|Paddy field stump after [[harvest]] in [[Japan]]
</gallery>


== See also ==
Rice-farming and the use of paddies in Korea is ancient. A glance at Korean paddy-farming can provide a window on the use of paddies in Northeast Asia. A pit-house at the Daecheon-ni site yielded '''carbonized rice grains''' and radiocarbon dates indicating that rice cultivation may have begun as early as the Middle [[Jeulmun Pottery Period]] (c. 3500 B.C.) in the [[Korean Peninsula]]. The earliest rice cultivation in the Korean Peninsula may have used '''dry-fields''' instead of paddies.
* [[Kuk Swamp]]
* [[Rice-fish system]]
* {{Annotated link|Upland rice}}
{{portalbar|Agriculture and Agronomy|Food}}


== References ==
The excavation of prehistoric rice paddies is rare, but the most ancient paddies in the world have been unearthed in Korea. [[Kyungnam University]] Museum (KUM) of [[Masan]] has been at the forefront of '''paddy-field archaeology''' in Korea. For example, paddy features at the '''Geumcheon-ni''' Site near modern-day [[Miryang]], Gyeongsang Nam-do Province, were excavated by KUM next to a [[pit-house]] that is dated to the latter part of the Early [[Mumun Pottery Period]] (c. 1100-850 B.C.). KUM has conducted excavations that have revealed similarly dated paddy features at '''Yaeum-dong''' and '''Okhyeon''' in modern-day Greater [[Ulsan]]. The earliest features were usually located in low-lying narrow gullys that were naturally swampy and fed by the local stream system.
{{Reflist}}


== Bibliography ==
Mumun Period paddy-farming used all of the elements that are present in today's paddies such terracing, bunds, canals, and small reservoirs. We are able to get a grasp of paddy-farming techniques of the Middle Mumun (c. 850-550 B.C.) from the well-preserved '''wooden tools''' excavated from archaeological rice paddies at the '''Majeon-ni''' Site. However, [[iron]] tools for paddy-farming were not introduced until sometime after 200 B.C. The spatial scale of individual paddies, and thus entire paddy-fields, increased with the regular use of '''iron tools''' in the '''Korean Three Kingdoms Period''' (c. A.D. 300/400-668).
* Bale, Martin T. Archaeology of Early Agriculture in Korea: An Update on Recent Developments. ''Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association'' 21(5):77–84, 2001.
* Barnes, Gina L. Paddy Soils Now and Then. ''World Archaeology'' 22(1):1–17, 1990.
* Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. ''Antiquity'' 77(295):87–95, 2003.
* Kwak, Jong-chul. Urinara-eui Seonsa – Godae Non Bat Yugu [Dry- and Wet-field Agricultural Features of the Korean Prehistoric].In ''Hanguk Nonggyeong Munhwa-eui Hyeongseong'' [The Formation of Agrarian Societies in Korea]: 21–73. Papers of the 25th National Meetings of the [[Korean Archaeological Society]], Busan, 2001.


== External links ==
Today, the small alluvial flats of most rural river valleys in South Korea are occupied by rice paddies. A year in the life of a Korean rice farmer in Gyeongsang-do Province begins as early as mid-February, when s/he assesses the rice paddies for any necessary repairs. Old fields may be rebuilt, and bund breaches are repaired. This work is carried out until mid-March, when warmer spring weather allows the farmer to buy or grow rice seedlings. The seedlings are keep indoors at first, but are then transplanted (usually by hand) into freshly flooded paddies in the month of April. Farmers patiently tend their paddies until [[Chuseok]], a holiday held in mid-August of the Lunar Calendar (mid-September by solar calendar). The harvest begins comparatively early in mild Gyeongsang Nam-do Province and can last until late October. Farmers usually dry the harvested grains in the sun before bringing them to market.
{{Commons category|Paddy fields}}
{{Wiktionary|paddy field}}
* [http://www.imaginatorium.org/sano/tanbo.htm How a paddy-field works]
* [https://expertsnote.com/agriculture/paddy-cultivation-sri-lanka/ Paddy cultivation]


{{Agriculture footer}}
The Chinese (or [[Sino-Korean]]) character for 'field', ''jeon'' ([[Hangeul]]: 전; [[Hanja]]: &#30000;), is frequently included in place names, especially small farming townships and villages. However, the Korean term for 'paddy' is derived from Sino-Korean and is literally 'water-field' or ''sujeon'' (Hangeul: 수전; Hanja: 水田).
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
==See also==
{{Commons|Paddy field}}
*[[Chinampa]]s
[[Category:Crops]]
[[Category:Crops]]
[[Category:Land management]]
[[ja:&#30000;]]
[[Category:Rice]]
[[Category:Riparian zone]]
[[Category:Sustainable agriculture]]
[[Category:Water and the environment]]

Latest revision as of 02:37, 9 August 2024

Banaue Rice Terraces of Luzon, Philippines, carved into steep mountainsides
Taro fields (loʻi) in Hanalei Valley, Kaua'i, Hawaii
Paddy field placed under the valley of Bandung, Indonesia
Farmers planting rice in Cambodia

A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien cultures. It was spread in prehistoric times by the expansion of Austronesian peoples to Island Southeast Asia, Madagascar, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. The technology was also acquired by other cultures in mainland Asia for rice farming, spreading to East Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

Fields can be built into steep hillsides as terraces or adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such as rivers or marshes. They require a great deal of labor and materials to create and need large quantities of water for irrigation. Oxen and water buffalo, adapted for life in wetlands, are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming.

Paddy field farming remains the dominant form of growing rice in modern times. It is practiced extensively in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Northern Iran, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam.[1] It has also been introduced elsewhere since the colonial era, notably in Northern Italy, the Camargue in France,[2] and in Spain, particularly in the Albufera de València wetlands in the Valencian Community, the Ebro Delta in Catalonia and the Guadalquivir wetlands in Andalusia, as well as along the eastern coast of Brazil, the Artibonite Valley in Haiti, Sacramento Valley in California, and West Lothian in Scotland among other places.

Paddy cultivation should not be confused with cultivation of deepwater rice, which is grown in flooded conditions with water more than 50 cm (20 in) deep for at least a month. Global paddies' emissions account for at least 10% of global methane emissions. Drip irrigation systems have been proposed as a possible environmental and commercial solution.

Etymology

[edit]

The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay/Indonesian word padi, meaning "rice plant",[3] which is itself derived from Proto-Austronesian *pajay ("rice in the field", "rice plant"). Cognates include Amis panay; Tagalog pálay; Kadazan Dusun paai; Javanese pari; and Chamorro faʻi, among others.[4]

History

[edit]

Neolithic southern China

[edit]
Map of Neolithic China
(8500 to 1500 BC)

Genetic evidence shows that all forms of paddy rice, including both indica and japonica, spring from a domestication of the wild rice Oryza rufipogon by cultures associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien-speakers. This occurred 13,500 to 8,200 years ago south of the Yangtze River in present-day China.[5][6]

Model of a Liangzhu culture (3400 to 2250 BC) ancient city surrounded by a moat with rice paddies

There are two likely centers of domestication for rice as well as the development of the wet-field technology. The first is in the lower Yangtze River, believed to be the homelands of the pre-Austronesians and possibly also the Kra-Dai, and associated with the Kuahuqiao, Hemudu, Majiabang, Songze, Liangzhu, and Maquiao cultures.[7][8][9][10][11] The second is in the middle Yangtze River, believed to be the homelands of the early Hmong-Mien speakers and associated with the Pengtoushan, Nanmuyuan, Liulinxi, Daxi, Qujialing, and Shijiahe cultures. Both of these regions were heavily populated and had regular trade contacts with each other, as well as with early Austroasiatic speakers to the west, and early Kra-Dai speakers to the south, facilitating the spread of rice cultivation throughout southern China.[8][9][11]

Spatial distribution of rice, millet and mixed farming sites in Neolithic China (He et al., 2017)[8]

The earliest paddy field found dates to 4330 BC, based on carbon dating of grains of rice and soil organic matter found at the Chaodun site in Kunshan.[12][13] At Caoxieshan, a site of the Neolithic Majiabang culture, archaeologists excavated paddy fields.[14] Some archaeologists claim that Caoxieshan may date to 4000–3000 BC.[15][16] There is archaeological evidence that unhusked rice was stored for the military and for burial with the deceased from the Neolithic period to the Han dynasty in China.[17]

By the late Neolithic (3500 to 2500 BC), population in the rice cultivating centers had increased rapidly, centered around the Qujialing-Shijiahe and Liangzhu cultures. There was also evidence of intensive rice cultivation in paddy fields as well as increasingly sophisticated material cultures in these two regions. The number of settlements among the Yangtze cultures and their sizes increased, leading some archeologists to characterize them as true states, with clearly advanced socio-political structures. However, it is unknown if they had centralized control.[18][19]

In the terminal Neolithic (2500 to 2000 BC), Shijiahe shrank in size, and Liangzhu disappeared altogether. This is largely believed to be the result of the southward expansion of the early Sino-Tibetan Longshan culture. Fortifications like walls (as well as extensive moats in Liangzhu cities) are common features in settlements during this period, indicating widespread conflict. This period also coincides with the southward movement of rice-farming cultures to the Lingnan and Fujian regions, as well as the southward migrations of the Austronesian, Kra-Dai, and Austroasiatic-speaking peoples to Mainland Southeast Asia and Island Southeast Asia.[18][20][21]

Austronesian expansion

[edit]
Expansion of Austronesian peoples
(3500 BC to AD 1200)
Possible language family homelands, and likely routes of early rice transfer (ca. 3500 to 500 BC). The approximate coastlines during the early Holocene are shown in lighter blue. (Bellwood, 2011)[9]

The spread of japonica rice cultivation and paddy field agriculture to Southeast Asia started with the migrations of the Austronesian Dapenkeng culture into Taiwan between 3500 and 2000 BC. The Nanguanli site in Taiwan, dated to ca. 2800 BC, has yielded numerous carbonized remains of both rice and millet in waterlogged conditions, indicating intensive wetland rice cultivation and dryland millet cultivation.[9]

Bas-relief of Karmawibhanga of 9th century Borobudur describe rice barn and rice plants being infested by mouse pestilence. Rice farming has a long history in Indonesia.

From about 2000 to 1500 BC, the Austronesian expansion began, with settlers from Taiwan moving south to migrate to Luzon in the Philippines, bringing rice cultivation technologies with them. From Luzon, Austronesians rapidly colonized the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia, moving westwards to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; and southwards to Sulawesi and Java. By 500 BC, there is evidence of intensive wetland rice agriculture already established in Java and Bali, especially near very fertile volcanic islands.[9]

Rice did not survive the Austronesian voyages into Micronesia and Polynesia; however, wet-field agriculture was transferred to the cultivation of other crops, most notably for taro cultivation. The Austronesian Lapita culture also came into contact with the non-Austronesian (Papuan) early agriculturists of New Guinea and introduced wetland farming techniques to them. In turn, they assimilated their range of indigenous cultivated fruits and tubers before spreading further eastward to Island Melanesia and Polynesia.[9]

Rice and wet-field agriculture were also introduced to Madagascar, the Comoros, and the coast of East Africa around the 1st millennium AD by Austronesian settlers from the Greater Sunda Islands.[22]

Korea

[edit]

There are ten archaeologically excavated rice paddy fields in Korea. The two oldest are the Okhyun and Yaumdong sites, found in Ulsan, dating to the early Mumun pottery period.[23]

Paddy field farming goes back thousands of years in Korea. A pit-house at the Daecheon-ni site yielded carbonized rice grains and radiocarbon dates, indicating that rice cultivation in dry-fields may have begun as early as the Middle Jeulmun pottery period (c. 3500–2000 BC) in the Korean Peninsula.[24] Ancient paddy fields have been carefully unearthed in Korea by institutes such as Kyungnam University Museum (KUM) of Masan. They excavated paddy field features at the Geumcheon-ni Site near Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province. The paddy field feature was found next to a pit-house that is dated to the latter part of the Early Mumun pottery period (c. 1100–850 BC). KUM has conducted excavations, that have revealed similarly dated paddy field features, at Yaeum-dong and Okhyeon, in modern-day Ulsan.[25]

The earliest Mumun features were usually located in low-lying narrow gullies, that were naturally swampy and fed by the local stream system. Some Mumun paddy fields in flat areas were made of a series of squares and rectangles, separated by bunds approximately 10 cm in height, while terraced paddy fields consisted of long irregular shapes that followed natural contours of the land at various levels.[26][27]

Mumun Period rice farmers used all of the elements that are present in today's paddy fields, such as terracing, bunds, canals, and small reservoirs. We can grasp some paddy-field farming techniques of the Middle Mumun (c. 850–550 BC), from the well-preserved wooden tools excavated from archaeological rice fields at the Majeon-ni Site. However, iron tools for paddy-field farming were not introduced until sometime after 200 BC. The spatial scale of paddy-fields increased, with the regular use of iron tools, in the Three Kingdoms of Korea Period (c. AD 300/400-668).[citation needed]

Japan

[edit]

The first paddy fields in Japan date to the Early Yayoi period (300 BC – 250 AD).[28] The Early Yayoi has been re-dated,[29] and based on studies of early Japanese paddy formations in Kyushu it appears that wet-field rice agriculture in Japan was directly adopted from the Lower Yangtze river basin in Eastern China.[citation needed]

Culture

[edit]
Top 20 rice producers by country—2012
(million tonnes)[30]
China 204.3
India 152.6
Indonesia 69.0
Vietnam 43.7
Thailand 37.8
Bangladesh 33.9
Myanmar 33.0
Philippines 18.0
Brazil 11.5
Japan 10.7
Pakistan 9.4
Cambodia 9.3
United States 9.0
Korea 6.4
Egypt 5.9
Nepal 5.1
Nigeria 4.8
Madagascar 4.0
Sri Lanka 3.8
Laos 3.5
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization

China

[edit]
Rice terraces in Yuanyang County, Yunnan, China

Although China's agricultural output is the largest in the world, only about 15% of its total land area can be cultivated. About 75% of the cultivated area is used for food crops. Rice is China's most important crop, raised on about 25% of the cultivated area. Most rice is grown south of the Huai River, in the Yangtze valley, the Zhu Jiang delta, and in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces.[citation needed]

Rice appears to have been used by the Early Neolithic populations of Lijiacun and Yunchanyan in China.[31] Evidence of possible rice cultivation from ca. 11,500 BP has been found, however it is still questioned whether the rice was indeed being cultivated, or instead being gathered as wild rice.[32] Bruce Smith, an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., who has written on the origins of agriculture, says that evidence has been mounting that the Yangtze was probably the site of the earliest rice cultivation.[33] In 1998, Crawford & Shen reported that the earliest of 14 AMS or radiocarbon dates on rice from at least nine Early to Middle Neolithic sites is no older than 7000 BC, that rice from the Hemudu and Luojiajiao sites indicates that rice domestication likely began before 5000 BC, but that most sites in China from which rice remains have been recovered are younger than 5000 BC.[31]

Panorama of the Longji terrace, one of the Longsheng rice terraces of Guangxi, China

During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), two revolutionary improvements in farming technology took place. One was the use of cast iron tools and beasts of burden to pull plows, and the other was the large-scale harnessing of rivers and development of water conservation projects. Sunshu Ao of the 6th century BC and Ximen Bao of the 5th century BC are two of the earliest hydraulic engineers from China, and their works were focused upon improving irrigation systems.[34] These developments were widely spread during the ensuing Warring States period (403–221 BC), culminating in the enormous Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System engineered by Li Bing by 256 BC for the State of Qin in ancient Sichuan. During the Eastern Jin (317–420) and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589), land-use became more intensive and efficient, rice was grown twice a year and cattle began to be used for plowing and fertilization.

By about 750, 75% of China's population lived north of the Yangtze, but by 1250, 75% of China's population lived south of it. Such large-scale internal migration was possible due to introduction of quick-ripening strains of rice from Vietnam suitable for multi-cropping.[35]

Famous rice paddies in China include the Longsheng Rice Terraces and the fields of Yuanyang County, Yunnan.[citation needed]

India

[edit]
Rice fields with seedlings planted in the village of Karthalipalem, Andhra Pradesh, India

India has the largest paddy output in the world and is also the largest exporter of rice in the world as of 2020. In India, West Bengal is the largest rice producing state.[36] Paddy fields are a common sight throughout India, both in the northern Gangetic Plains and the southern peninsular plateaus. Paddy is cultivated at least twice a year in most parts of India, the two seasons being known as Rabi and Kharif respectively. The former cultivation is dependent on irrigation, while the latter depends on the Monsoon. The paddy cultivation plays a major role in socio-cultural life of rural India. Many regional festivals celebrate the harvest, such as Onam, Bihu, Thai Pongal, Makar Sankranti, and Nabanna. The Kaveri delta region of Thanjavur is historically known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, and Kuttanadu is called the rice bowl of Kerala. Gangavathi is known as the rice bowl of Karnataka.[citation needed]

Indonesia

[edit]
Water buffalos were formerly used to plough muddy paddy fields in Indonesia although the use of mechanised methods, such as small powered ploughs, has become much more common in recent years.

Prime Javanese paddies yield roughly 6 metric tons of unmilled rice (2.5 metric tons of milled rice) per hectare. When irrigation is available, rice farmers typically plant Green Revolution rice varieties allowing three growing seasons per year. Since fertilizer and pesticide are relatively expensive inputs, farmers typically plant seeds in a very small plot. Three weeks following germination, the 15-20 centimetre (6–8 in) stalks are picked and replanted at greater separation, in a backbreaking manual procedure.

Rice harvesting in Central Java is often performed not by owners or sharecroppers of paddies, but rather by itinerant middlemen, whose small firms specialize in the harvest, transport, milling, and distribution of rice.

The fertile volcanic soil of much of the Indonesian archipelago—particularly the islands of Java and Bali—has made rice a central dietary staple. Steep terrain on Bali resulted in complex irrigation systems, locally called subak, to manage water storage and drainage for rice terraces.[37]

Italy

[edit]
Paddy fields near Mantua

Rice is grown in Northern Italy, especially in the valley of the Po River.[38] The paddy fields are irrigated by fast-flowing streams descending from the Alps. In the 19th century and much of the 20th century, the paddy fields were farmed by the mondine, a subculture of seasonal rice paddy workers composed mostly of poor women.[citation needed]

Japan

[edit]
Paddy field scarecrows in Japan

The acidic soil conditions common in Japan due to volcanic eruptions have made the paddy field the most productive farming method. Paddy fields are represented by the kanji (commonly read as ta or as den) that has had a strong influence on Japanese culture. In fact, the character , which originally meant 'field' in general, is used in Japan exclusively to refer to paddy fields. One of the oldest samples of writing in Japan is widely credited to the kanji found on pottery at the archaeological site of Matsutaka in Mie Prefecture that dates to the late 2nd century.

Ta () is used as a part of many place names as well as in many family names. Most of these places are somehow related to the paddy field and, in many cases, are based on the history of a particular location. For example, where a river runs through a village, the place east of the river may be called Higashida (東田), literally "east paddy field." A place with a newly irrigated paddy field, especially those made during or after the Edo period, may be called Nitta or Shinden (both 新田), "new paddy field." In some places, lakes and marshes were likened to a paddy field and were named with ta, like Hakkōda (八甲田).

Today, many family names have ta as a component, a practice which can be largely attributed to a government edict in the early Meiji Period which required all citizens to have a family name. Many chose a name based on some geographical feature associated with their residence or occupation, and as nearly three-fourths of the population were farmers, many made family names using ta. Some common examples are Tanaka (田中), literally meaning "in the paddy field;" Nakata (中田), "middle paddy field;" Kawada (川田), "river paddy field;" and Furuta (古田), "old paddy field."[citation needed]

In recent years, rice consumption in Japan has fallen and many rice farmers are increasingly elderly. The government has subsidized rice production since the 1970s, and favors protectionist policies regarding cheaper imported rice.[39]

Korea

[edit]
Paddy field near Namwon, South Korea, early June

Arable land in small alluvial flats of most rural river valleys in South Korea are dedicated to paddy-field farming. Farmers assess paddy fields for any necessary repairs in February. Fields may be rebuilt, and bund breaches are repaired. This work is carried out until mid-March, when warmer spring weather allows the farmer to buy or grow rice seedlings. They are transplanted (usually by rice transplanter) from the indoors into freshly flooded paddy fields in May. Farmers tend and weed their paddy fields through the summer until around the time of Chuseok, a traditional holiday held on 15 August of the Lunar Calendar (circa mid-September on the Solar Calendar). The harvest begins in October. Coordinating the harvest can be challenging because many Korean farmers have small paddy fields in a number of locations around their villages, and modern harvesting machines are sometimes shared between extended family members. Farmers usually dry the harvested grains in the sun before bringing them to market.[citation needed]

The Hanja character for 'field', jeon (Korean; Hanja), is found in some place names, especially small farming townships and villages. However, the specific Korean term for 'paddy' is a purely Korean word, "non" (Korean).[citation needed]

Madagascar

[edit]
Baobab and rice field near Morondava, Madagascar

In Madagascar, the average annual consumption of rice is 130 kg per person, one of the largest in the world.

According to a 1999 study of UPDRS / FAO:

The majority of rice is related to irrigation (1,054,381 ha). The choice of methods conditioning performance is determined by the variety and quality control of water.

The tavy is traditionally the culture of flooded upland rice on burning of cleared natural rain forest (135,966 ha). Criticized as being the cause of deforestation, tavy is still widely practiced by farmers in Madagascar, who find a good compromise between climate risks, availability of labour and food security.

By extension, the tanety, which literally means "hill," is also growing upland rice, carried out on the grassy slopes that have been deforested for the production of charcoal (139,337 ha).

Among the many varieties, rice of Madagascar includes: Vary lava - a translucent long and large grain rice, considered a luxury rice; Vary Makalioka - a translucent long and thin grain rice; Vary Rojofotsy - a half-long grain rice; and Vary mena, or red rice, exclusive to Madagascar.[citation needed]

Malaysia

[edit]
Paddy field in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia

Paddy fields can be found in most states on the Malaysian Peninsula, with most of the fields being located in the northern states such as Kedah, Perlis, Perak, and Penang. Paddy fields can also be found on Malaysia's east coast region, in Kelantan and Terengganu. The central state of Selangor also has its fair share of paddy fields, especially in the districts of Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam.[citation needed]

Before Malaysia became heavily reliant on its industrial output, people were mainly involved in agriculture, especially in the production of rice. It was for that reason, that people usually built their houses next to paddy fields. The very spicy chili pepper that is often eaten in Malaysia, the bird's eye chili, is locally called cili padi, literally "paddy chili". Some research pertaining to Rainfed lowland rice in Sarawak has been reported.[1]

Myanmar

[edit]
Paddy fields in Myanmar

Rice is grown in Myanmar primarily in three areas – the Irrawaddy Delta, the area along and the delta of the Kaladan River, and the Central plains around Mandalay, though there has been an increase in rice farming in Shan State and Kachin State in recent years.[40] Up until the later 1960s, Myanmar was the main exporter of rice. Termed the rice basket of Southeast Asia, much of the rice grown in Myanmar does not rely on fertilizers and pesticides, thus, although "organic" in a sense, it has been unable to cope with population growth and other rice economies which utilized fertilizers.

Rice is now grown in all the three seasons of Myanmar, though primarily in the Monsoon season – from June to October. Rice grown in the delta areas relies heavily on the river water and sedimented minerals from the northern mountains, whilst the rice grown in the central regions require irrigation from the Irrawaddy River.

The fields are tilled when the first rains arrive – traditionally measured at 40 days after Thingyan, the Burmese New Year – around the beginning of June. In modern times, tractors are used, but traditionally, buffalos were employed. The rice plants are planted in nurseries and then transplanted by hand into the prepared fields. The rice is then harvested in late November – "when the rice bends with age". Most of the rice planting and harvesting is done by hand. The rice is then threshed and stored, ready for the mills.[citation needed]

Nepal

[edit]
Women planting rice in Nepal

In Nepal, rice (Nepali: धान, Dhaan) is grown in the Terai and hilly regions. It is mainly grown during the summer monsoon in Nepal.[41]

Philippines

[edit]
Batad Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines

Paddy fields are a common sight in the Philippines. Several vast paddy fields exist in the provinces of Ifugao, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Cagayan, Bulacan, Quezon, and other provinces. Nueva Ecija is considered the main rice growing province of the Philippines.[citation needed]

The Banaue Rice Terraces are an example of paddy fields in the country. They are located in Banaue in Northern Luzon, Philippines and were built by the Ifugaos 2,000 years ago.[42] Streams and springs found in the mountains were tapped and channeled into irrigation canals that run downhill through the rice terraces. Other notable Philippine paddy fields are the Batad Rice Terraces, the Bangaan Rice Terraces, the Mayoyao Rice Terraces and the Hapao Rice Terraces.[43]

Located at Barangay Batad in Banaue, the Batad Rice Terraces are shaped like an amphitheatre, and can be reached by a 12-kilometer ride from Banaue Hotel and a 2-hour hike uphill through mountain trails. The Bangaan Rice Terraces portray the typical Ifugao community, where the livelihood activities are within the village and its surroundings. The Bangaan Rice Terraces are accessible by a one-hour ride from Poblacion, Banaue, then a 20-minute trek down to the village. It can be viewed best from the road to Mayoyao. The Mayoyao Rice Terraces are located at Mayoyao, 44 kilometers away from Poblacion, Banaue. The town of Mayoyao lies in the midst of these rice terraces. All dikes are tiered with flat stones. The Hapao Rice Terraces are within 55 kilometers from the capital town of Lagawe. Other Ifugao stone-walled rice terraces are located in the municipality of Hungduan.[43]

Sri Lanka

[edit]
A paddy field in Sammanthurai, Ampara District, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan paddy cultivation history dates back to more than 2000 years ago. The historical reports say that Sri Lanka is regarded as the "paddy store of the east" because it produced an excessive quantity of rice. Paddy cultivation can be found all over the island and a considerable amount of land is allocated for it. Both upcountry and low country wetlands use paddy cultivation. The majority of paddy land is in the dry zone, and it uses special irrigation systems for cultivation. The water storing tank called "Wewa" facilitates a supply of water to paddy lands in the cultivation period. Agriculture in Sri Lanka mainly depends on rice production.[44] Sri Lanka sometimes exports rice to its neighboring countries. Around 1.5 million hectares of land are cultivated in Sri Lanka for paddy in 2008/2009 maha: 64% of which is cultivated during the dry season and 35% cultivated during the wet season. Around 879,000 farmer families are engaged in paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. They make up 20% of the country's population and 32% of the employment.[citation needed]

Thailand

[edit]
A small hut in between rice paddies on the outskirts of the town of Nan, Thailand

Rice production in Thailand represents a significant portion of the Thai economy. It uses over half of the farmable land area and labor force in Thailand.[45]

Thailand has a strong tradition of rice production. It has the fifth-largest amount of land used for rice cultivation in the world and is the world's largest exporter of rice.[46] Thailand has plans to further increase its land available for rice production, with a goal of adding 500,000 hectares to the 9.2 million hectares of rice-growing areas already cultivated.[47] The Thai Ministry of Agriculture expected rice production to yield around 30 million tons of rice for 2008.[48] The most produced strain of rice in Thailand is jasmine rice, which has a significantly lower yield rate than other types of rice, but also normally fetches more than double the price of other strains in a global market.[47]

Vietnam

[edit]
A rice field in Vietnam

Rice fields in Vietnam (ruộng or cánh đồng in Vietnamese) are the predominant land use in the valley of the Red River and the Mekong Delta. In the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam, control of seasonal river flooding is achieved by an extensive network of dykes which over the centuries total some 3000 km. In the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, there is an interlacing drainage and irrigation canal system that has become the symbol of this area. The canals additionally serve as transportation routes, allowing farmers to bring their produce to market. In Northwestern Vietnam, Thai people built their "valley culture" based on the cultivation of glutinous rice planted in upland fields, requiring terracing of the slopes.

The primary festival related to the agrarian cycle is "lễ hạ điền" (literally "descent into the fields") held as the start of the planting season in hope of a bountiful harvest. Traditionally, the event was officiated with much pomp. The monarch carried out the ritual plowing of the first furrow while local dignitaries and farmers followed suit. Thổ địa (deities of the earth), thành hoàng làng (the village patron spirit), Thần Nông (god of agriculture), and thần lúa (god of rice plants) were all venerated with prayers and offerings.

In colloquial Vietnamese, wealth is frequently associated with the vastness of the individual's land holdings. Paddy fields so large as for "storks to fly with their wings out-stretched" ("đồng lúa thẳng cánh cò bay") can be heard as a common metaphor. Wind-blown undulating rice plants across a paddy field in literary Vietnamese is termed figuratively "waves of rice plants" ("sóng lúa").[citation needed]

Ecology

[edit]

Paddy fields are a major source of atmospheric methane which contributes to global warming, having been estimated to contribute in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes of the gas per annum.[49][50] Studies have shown that this can be significantly reduced while also boosting crop yield by draining the paddies to allow the soil to aerate to interrupt methane production.[51] Studies have also shown the variability in assessment of methane emission using local, regional and global factors and calling for better inventorization based on micro level data.[52]

Rice paddies are responsible for 10% of global methane emissions, roughly equal to the emissions of the aviation industry.[53] Drip irrigation systems developed by Netafim and N-Drip were introduced in several countries and according to the Times of Israel can reduce up to 85% of emissions.[54]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Sang, Anisia Jati; Tay, Kai Meng; Lim, Chee Peng; Saeid, Nahavandi (2018). "Application of a Genetic-Fuzzy FMEA to Rainfed Lowland Rice Production in Sarawak: Environmental, Health, and Safety Perspectives". IEEE Access. 6: 74628–74647. Bibcode:2018IEEEA...674628S. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2883115. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30118456.
  2. ^ "Riz de Camargue, Silo de Tourtoulen, Riz blanc de Camargue, Riz et céréales de Camargue". Riz-camargue.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  3. ^ "paddy". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  4. ^ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen. "*pajay — rice in the field; rice plant". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. ^ Molina, J.; Sikora, M.; Garud, N.; Flowers, J. M.; Rubinstein, S.; Reynolds, A.; Huang, P.; Jackson, S.; Schaal, B. A.; Bustamante, C. D.; Boyko, A. R.; Purugganan, M. D. (2011). "Molecular evidence for a single evolutionary origin of domesticated rice". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (20): 8351–6. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108.8351M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1104686108. PMC 3101000. PMID 21536870.
  6. ^ Gross, B. L.; Zhao, Z. (2014). "Archaeological and genetic insights into the origins of domesticated rice". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (17): 6190–7. Bibcode:2014PNAS..111.6190G. doi:10.1073/pnas.1308942110. PMC 4035933. PMID 24753573.
  7. ^ Zhang, Jianping; Lu, Houyuan; Gu, Wanfa; Wu, Naiqin; Zhou, Kunshu; Hu, Yayi; Xin, Yingjun; Wang, Can; Kashkush, Khalil (17 December 2012). "Early Mixed Farming of Millet and Rice 7800 Years Ago in the Middle Yellow River Region, China". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e52146. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...752146Z. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052146. PMC 3524165. PMID 23284907.
  8. ^ a b c He, Keyang; Lu, Houyuan; Zhang, Jianping; Wang, Can; Huan, Xiujia (7 June 2017). "Prehistoric evolution of the dualistic structure mixed rice and millet farming in China". The Holocene. 27 (12): 1885–1898. Bibcode:2017Holoc..27.1885H. doi:10.1177/0959683617708455. S2CID 133660098.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Bellwood, Peter (9 December 2011). "The Checkered Prehistory of Rice Movement Southwards as a Domesticated Cereal—from the Yangzi to the Equator" (PDF). Rice. 4 (3–4): 93–103. Bibcode:2011Rice....4...93B. doi:10.1007/s12284-011-9068-9. S2CID 44675525.
  10. ^ Hsieh, Jaw-shu; Hsing, Yue-ie Caroline; Hsu, Tze-fu; Li, Paul Jen-kuei; Li, Kuang-ti; Tsang, Cheng-hwa (24 December 2011). "Studies on Ancient Rice—Where Botanists, Agronomists, Archeologists, Linguists, and Ethnologists Meet". Rice. 4 (3–4): 178–183. Bibcode:2011Rice....4..178H. doi:10.1007/s12284-011-9075-x.
  11. ^ a b Li, Hui; Huang, Ying; Mustavich, Laura F.; Zhang, Fan; Tan, Jing-Ze; Wang, ling-E; Qian, Ji; Gao, Meng-He; Jin, Li (2007). "Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River" (PDF). Human Genetics. 122 (3–4): 383–388. doi:10.1007/s00439-007-0407-2. PMID 17657509. S2CID 2533393. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2013.
  12. ^ Cao, Zhihong; Fu, Jianrong; Zou, Ping; Huang, Jing Fa; Lu, Hong; Weng, Jieping; Ding, Jinlong (August 2010). "Origin and chronosequence of paddy soils in China". Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science: 39–42. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  13. ^ Bellwood, Peter (1997). "Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago". Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago: Revised Edition. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. pp. 205–211. ISBN 0824818830. JSTOR j.ctt24hf81.
  14. ^ Fujiwara, H. (ed.). Search for the Origin of Rice Cultivation: The Ancient Rice Cultivation in Paddy Fields at the Cao Xie Shan Site in China. Miyazaki: Society for Scientific Studies on Cultural Property, 1996. (In Japanese and Chinese)
  15. ^ Fujiwara 1996
  16. ^ Tsude, Hiroshi. Yayoi Farmers Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Agricultural Development in East Asia. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 21(5):53–59, 2001.
  17. ^ "Expansion of Chinese Paddy Rice to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  18. ^ a b Zhang, Chi; Hung, Hsiao-Chun (2008). "The Neolithic of Southern China – Origin, Development, and Dispersal" (PDF). Asian Perspectives. 47 (2).
  19. ^ Zhang, Chi (2013). "The Qujialing–Shijiahe culture in the middle Yangzi River valley". In Underhill, Anne P. (ed.). A Companion to Chinese Archaeology. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 510–534. ISBN 9781118325780.
  20. ^ Liu, Li; Chen, Xingcan (2012). The Archaeology of China: From the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521643108.
  21. ^ Major, John S.; Cook, Constance A. (2016). Ancient China: A History. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317503668.
  22. ^ Beaujard, Philippe (August 2011). "The first migrants to Madagascar and their introduction of plants: linguistic and ethnological evidence" (PDF). Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 46 (2): 169–189. doi:10.1080/0067270X.2011.580142. S2CID 55763047.
  23. ^ Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. Antiquity 77(295):87–95, 2003.
  24. ^ Crawford and Lee 2003
  25. ^ Bale, Martin T. Archaeology of Early Agriculture in Korea: An Update on Recent Developments. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 21(5):77–84, 2001.
  26. ^ Bale 2001
  27. ^ Kwak, Jong-chul. Urinara-eui Seonsa – Godae Non Bat Yugu [Dry- and Wet-field Agricultural Features of the Korean Prehistoric].In Hanguk Nonggyeong Munhwa-eui Hyeongseong [The Formation of Agrarian Societies in Korea]: 21–73. Papers of the 25th National Meetings of the Korean Archaeological Society, Busan, 2001
  28. ^ Barnes, Gina L. Paddy Soils Now and Then. World Archaeology 22(1):1–17, 1990.
  29. ^ Shōda, Shinya (2007). "A Comment on the Yayoi Period Dating Controversy". Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology. 1.
  30. ^ fao.org (FAOSTAT). "Countries by commodity (Rice, paddy)". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  31. ^ a b Crawford and Shen 1998
  32. ^ Harrington, Spencer P.M. (11 June 1997). "Earliest Rice". Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. Rice cultivation began in China ca. 11,500 years ago, some 3,500 years earlier than previously believed
  33. ^ Normile, Dennis (1997). "Yangtze seen as earliest rice site". Science. 275 (5298): 309–310. doi:10.1126/science.275.5298.309. S2CID 140691699.
  34. ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Page 271.
  35. ^ Angus, Maddison (21 September 2006). The World Economy, Angus Maddison, p.20, ISBN 92-64-02261-9. OECD. ISBN 9789264022614. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  36. ^ "Top 10 Rice Producing States of India, Indian States with Highest Rice Production". Mapsofindia.com. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  37. ^ "Lansing and Miller" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  38. ^ "Channel 4 notes for schools". Channel4.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  39. ^ "Economist.com". The Economist. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  40. ^ "Increasing rice production in Myanmar". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  41. ^ "New Agriculturist: Country profile - Nepal". www.new-ag.info.
  42. ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  43. ^ a b "Error". Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  44. ^ "Rice Knowledge for Sri Lanka - IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank". www.knowledgebank.irri.org.
  45. ^ Country Profile: Thailand. lcweb2.loc.gov 7 (July 2007).
  46. ^ Thailand backs away from rice cartel plan." The International Herald Tribune 7 May 2008: 12. 2 February 2009, lexisnexis.com
  47. ^ a b "Rice strain is cause of comparatively low productivity." The Nation (Thailand) 16 April 2008. 2 February 2009, lexisnexis.com
  48. ^ Nirmal, Ghost. "Thailand to set aside more land for farming; It plans to increase rice production and stop conversion of agricultural land." The Straits Times (Singapore) 24 April 2008.
  49. ^ "Methane Sources – Rice Paddies". Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  50. ^ "Scientists blame global warming on rice". Sptimes.com. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  51. ^ "Shifts in rice farming practices in China reduce greenhouse gas methane". Goddard Space Flight Center. Archived from the original on 11 January 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2002.
  52. ^ Mishra S. N., Mitra S., Rangan L, Dutta S., and Pooja. (2012). Exploration of 'hot-spots' of methane and nitrous oxide emission from the agriculture fields of Assam, India. Agriculture and Food Security. 1/16. doi:10.1186/2048-7010-1-16.
  53. ^ Surkes, Sue (10 May 2021). "Israel's drip irrigation pioneers aim to do away with flooded rice fields".
  54. ^ Wrobel, Sharon (21 June 2023). "Agritech firm N-Drip raises $44 million in Liechtenstein-led funding round". Times of Israel.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Bale, Martin T. Archaeology of Early Agriculture in Korea: An Update on Recent Developments. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 21(5):77–84, 2001.
  • Barnes, Gina L. Paddy Soils Now and Then. World Archaeology 22(1):1–17, 1990.
  • Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. Antiquity 77(295):87–95, 2003.
  • Kwak, Jong-chul. Urinara-eui Seonsa – Godae Non Bat Yugu [Dry- and Wet-field Agricultural Features of the Korean Prehistoric].In Hanguk Nonggyeong Munhwa-eui Hyeongseong [The Formation of Agrarian Societies in Korea]: 21–73. Papers of the 25th National Meetings of the Korean Archaeological Society, Busan, 2001.
[edit]