In the afternoon of June 21st, Professor Fu Daolian from the School of Archaeology, University College London, visited NWU and delivered an academic lecture entitled with “From Grassland to Granary: The Convergent Evolution of Corn Farming in Africa and Asia”, which is also enlisted as the 287th lecture of “Houwailu Series Academic Lecture” of NWU for faculty and students. The lecture was hosted by Professor Wen Rui of School of Cultural Heritage, and more than 100 representatives of teachers and students of the university listened to the lecture.
By comparing the process of crop domestication in the western and eastern Sahel region of Africa, the savanna region of India, northern China and the steppe environment region of southwestern Asia, and by analyzing the domestication of crops such as barley from West Asia, pearl millet from Mali, sorghum from Sudan, and the multi-stemmed bracken grass from southern India, Professor Fu obtained a schedule of plant domestication, further demonstrating that there are diverse pathways to cereal agriculture. He analyzes the interaction of the domestication process of millet crops with sedentary agriculture, animal husbandry and population growth, and points out that similar factors inherent in domestication and semi-arid environments influenced the evolution of cereal-based economic convergence.
After the lecture, Prof. Fu had an interactive discussion with the students and teachers presented on related issues.
