LINGUISTIC HISTORY OF ANIMALS AND CROPS FROM

THE ANCIENT SILK ROAD

Prof  David  Bradley  President,  Comité  Interna7onal  

Permanent  des  Linguistes  La  Trobe  University,  Australia  

YANGSHAO ANIMALS AND CROPS

The 仰韶 (Yangshao) Culture in the upper Yellow River circa 7-5K years BP was probably an early pre-Han Chinese civilisation This culture had three main food crops and three main domestic animals There were also various local wild animals which were hunted

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YANGSHAO CROPS

The three crops were Panicum miliaceum (panicled millet) Setaria italica (foxtail/broomcorn millet) Glycine sp. (soybeans)

These crops were first domesticated in this area, some time before the Yangshao Culture

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YANGSHAO ANIMALS

The three domestic animals were Canis familaris (dog) Sus scrofa (pig) Bos sp. (cow)

The dog was probably the earliest human domestic animal; the pig was first domesticated in this area before the Yangshao Culture; the cow was domesticated very early in several places including China

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PROTO- SINO-TIBETAN

If the Yangshao Culture represented the speakers of Proto-Sino-Tibetan, we would expect to find reconstructed Proto-Sino-Tibetan words for these three crops and three animals In fact we do find cognate words for most of these in Proto-Sinitic and across Proto-Tibeto-Burman

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SOURCES FOR PROTO-SINITIC

For a reconstruction of Longshan period Sinitic, see Baxter and Sagart (2014) For a reconstruction of Xia/Shang period Sinitic, see Schuessler (2007) For a reconstruction of the Zhou up to Han periods of Sinitic, see Karlgren (1957)

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SOURCES FOR PROTO-TIBETO-BURMAN

For a reconstruction of Tibeto-Burman with reference to Sinitic, see Benedict (1972) For a further reconstruction of Tibeto-Burman, see Matisoff (2003) For a reconstruction of southeastern Tibeto-Burman as spoken in ancient southwestern China, see Bradley (1979/1991)

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   CROPS IN ANCIENT CHINA

中文 pinyin Baxter & Schuessler Karlgren Sagart

Panicum 禾! hé (G)!oj (g)wâi 8a g’wâ ‘grain’ unhusked 粟! sù [s]ok sok 1221a s “iuk husked!! 米! m! C.m![e]j" mî÷ 598a!mi˙r ‘rice’

glutinous 黍! sh" s-tha" nha" 93a! |s“io ‘millet’

Setaria! 稷! jì ts[#]k tsats 922b ts “i˙k ‘millet’ fine grain 梁 liáng lja! ra! 738b l“iang

husked grain 粲 càn [tsh]!ar-s - 154c ts’ân ‘food’

cooked grain 饭! fàn bo[n]"-s bans 262i b’ “iw”an

Glycine 豆! dòu [N.t]!o-s (late) 118a d’u (loan)

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DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN ANCIENT CHINA

中文 pinyin Baxter & Schuessler Karlgren Sagart

pig 猪 zh! tra tra 45h t’io dog 犬 quán !"#wh!$%&$'&" "()*'" +,-.//"(0)#'

cow 牛 níu $$&)# $w# --1.//'2 “i”ug

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RICE: AN ANCIENT ARRIVAL

Rice (Oryza sativa) was first domesticated in southern China (var. japonica) and in mainland Southeast Asia (var. indica), and transmitted to the Yangshao Culture from the south; it eventually became the main crop, and words which originally referred to stages in the use of millet were later shifted to refer primarily to rice, though millets remained important up to the Zhou Dynasty and beyond

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LATER CROPS

Buckwhea t (Fagopyrum spp . ) was f i r s t domesticated in southwestern China and transmitted to the north. Forms in Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman are related, which indicates that it was perhaps already known to the Yangshao Culture Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) was first domesticated in Africa and transmitted to China much later, among the crops to come via the Silk Road; the Chinese word for this is a compound of existing words

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   LATER CROPS

中文 pinyin Baxter & Schuessler Karlgren Sagart Oryza 稻! ! dào [l]!u" lû÷ 1078h d’ôg buckwheat 荞 qiáo [g]raw - - sorghum 高梁 g!oliang ‘high’ plus ‘fine grain’

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NEW LONGSHAN ANIMALS AND CROPS

The 龙山 (Longshan) Culture, circa 5-4K years BP, received two additional crops and two new domestic animals from the west, via the ancient Silk Road These were wheat (Triticum) and barley (Hordeum) about 4,500 years ago, with domestic goats (Caprum) and sheep (Ovis) perhaps slightly later, about 4,400 years ago  

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NEW LONGSHAN ANIMALS AND CROPS - 2

Two other domestic animals were introduced from the south into Longshan Culture about 4,500 years ago These were the chicken (Gallus) and the water buffalo (Bubalus)  

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NEW LONGSHAN CROPS

The words for the two newly-introduced crops do not show regular cognates between Proto-Sinitic and Proto-Tibeto-Burman, so we can infer that the separation of the Tibeto-Burman groups from Sinitic must have taken place before the Longshan Culture The Sinitic word for these crops is borrowed with the crops: Indo-European *melhx ‘grind’ via Altaic *mürki ‘wheat/barley’ to Longshan Sinitic 麦 mài    

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NEW LONGSHAN ANIMALS

The words for the two animals introduced from the west reflect one Proto-Sino-Tibetan etymon, but it is used solely to refer to sheep in Proto-Tibeto-Burman, with other etyma for the goat which are not found in Sinitic; while in Sinitic it refers to both, with a preceding syllable added to distinguish them where necessary Presumably the original meaning of this was the local wild goat, hunted for food during the Yangshao Culture  

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NEW LONGSHAN ANIMALS - 2

The words for the two new domestic animals from the south, the chicken (Gallus) and the water buffalo (Bubalus), have no cognates between Proto-Sinitic and Proto-Tibeto-Burman, as expected The Sinitic word for the chicken appears to be borrowed from a Miao-Yao source, and then retransmitted southwards into Thai-Kadai languages The Sinitic form for water buffalo is based on the original cow word with an added first syllable ‘water’

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ERLITOU/XIA BRONZE About 4K years BP, the 二里头 (Erlitou) Culture or Xia Dynasty received bronze (an alloy of copper plus tin) from the west via the early Silk Road The word 铜, Proto-Sinitic *duwng, was created from internal Sinitic resources Some scholars (Karlgren and others) suggest that it comes from a word meaning ‘mixed/alloyed’ Others (Benedict and others) suggest a source word meaning ‘red’ Tibeto-Burman has an unrelated cognate *gr˙y

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ERLIGANG/SHANG HORSES

During the 二里岗 (Erligang) Culture or Shang Dynasty circa 3.3K years BP, horses were introduced from the west, again via the early Silk Road The word 马 for this was borrowed with the horse from Indo-European *marko ‘mare’, Tibeto-Burman languages separately borrowed the word from similar sources

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   LATER DOMESTIC ANMALS

中文 pinyin Baxter & Schuessler Karlgren Sagart

goat 羊! yáng !"! ya!/la! 732a z “iang

chicken 鸡 j! #"$ kê %&'(!!#)$*!horse 马 m" +","# mrâ# -."!!+/

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WHEN WAS THE CHINESE CYCLE CREATED?

Thus, it was only by the late Shang Dynasty that all of the animals included in the cycle of twelve animals were widely known; the horse was the last Of these twelve animals, six were the main Shang domestic animals, five are wild animals (in some cases including a variety of different genera and species, one much later also domestic) and one is mythical

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   SHANG ANIMAL CYCLE

!!

etymon Karlgren Schuessler Baxter & Sagart

rat 92a |s“io nha! [‘l]a! cow tiger hare dragon snake horse goat monkey chicken dog (puppy pig

998a ng“i”ug 57b "o 63a t’o 1193a l“iung 4l »d’“ia 40a må 732a z“iang 113g g’u 876n kieg 479a k’iw#n 108d ku 45h t’io

$w# hlâ! lhâh ro$ m-lai mrâ! ja$/la$ gô kê k’wîn! kô!/klo! tra

[$]w# qh%ra! “‘l%a-s [m#]-ro$ C#-lAj m%ra! &a! m#-g%(r)o k%e (k)wh%[e][n]! C#.k%ro!) tra

"#$%&'()*$(#+!,-+!./0&#'#!1&021-!(#)2'!

!!!!

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SEMANTIC SHIFTS

In one case, the original Chinese word is replaced by another word: the more restricted word 狗 gǒu ‘puppy’ generalises to replace the original word 犬 quán ‘dog’ This newly-extended word also replaces the original word in the twelve-animal cycle

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NEW TANG ANIMALS

The rabbit (Cuniculus) was received from Europe via the Silk Road in approximately the Tang Dynasty There was a local wild animal, 兔 ‘hare’ (Lepus spp.), long hunted for food and thus with a Proto-Sino-Tibetan form; the similar newly-introduced domestic animal was referred to by the same long-established word  

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TIBETO-BURMAN COGNATES

As discussed above, the word for horse is a separate loanword in Tibeto-Burman languages; the form *mra≥ is restricted to southeastern Tibeto-Burman, other branches borrow differently, or from different sources  

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TIBETO-BURMAN CYCLE ANIMALS

etymon Benedict Matisoff Bradley rat cow tiger hare dragon snake horse goat sheep monkey chicken dog pig

93 byuw/rwak 215 !wa 462 k-yey/la 93 b-yuw - 447 b-ru:l 145 s/m-ra! 339 kye:l - 314 woy - rak 159 kwiy 43 p(w)ak

syow/wak !wa k"y/la y"w bruk/bru! ru:l mra! kye:l/tsi:t luk/yak/ya! woy/(m)yuk ha:r/rak kw"y pwak/wak

31 k-rwakH 8 !ya2 13 k-la2 46 ta!2 lo!2/1 (Chinese) 60 m-rwe1 6 m-ra!2 4 k-citL 5 #o!1 23 CmyokL 50 k-rakH 18 kwe2 21 wakL

Tibeto-Burman animal terms

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ANIMAL COGNATES

Of the twelve animals, domestic horses and chickens postdate the separation of Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman, so cognates are not expected Of the remaining ten, six share Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman cognates Pig, rat and monkey are not clearly cognate, and dragon is normally a Chinese loan in Tibeto-Burman For over 5,000 years of separation, 60% is a high rate of vocabulary retention

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CONCLUSION

Historical linguistic comparison and archaeological evidence about crops and domestic animals are mutually reinforcing Yangshao Culture was probably Proto-Sino-Tibetan, and Longshan Culture was probably Proto-Sinitic Crops and domestic animals have been arriving in China from the west via the Silk Road for at least 4,500 years, and from the south for even longer

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REFERENCES Baxter, William H. & Laurent Sagart. <ocbaxtersagart.lsait.lsa.mich.edu> (accessed 15 October 2015). Baxter, William H. & Laurent Sagart. 2014. Old Chinese, a new reconstruction. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Benedict, Paul K. 1972. Sino-Tibetan, a conspectus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bradley, David. 1979. Proto-Loloish. London, Malmö: Curzon Press. Bradley, David. 1991. 彝语支源流.（成都）四川民族出版社 [Bradley 1979 in Chinese. Chengdu: Sichuan Nationalities Press]. Bradley, David. 1997. What did they eat? Grain crops of the Burmic groups. Mon-Khmer Studies 27: 161-170. Bradley, David. 2011. Proto-Tibeto-Burman grain crops. Rice 4(3-4): 134-141. Bradley, David. 2015. 《山海经》与汉藏语系中的中国十二生肖, Chinese calendar animals in Shanhaijing and in Sino-Tibetan languages. In 大卫·布拉德利与裴丽昆 (编), David Bradley & Pei Likun (eds.),《山海经世界地理与中国远古文明》, 5-13; Shanhaijing World Geography and Ancient Chinese Civilization, 93-101. （北京）北京外国语大学出版社, Beijing: Beijing Foreign Studies University Press. Karlgren, Bernhard. 1957. Grammata serica recensa. Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. Liu Li & Chen Xingcan. 2003. State formation in early China. London: Gerald Duckworth. Liu Li & Chen Xingccan. 2012. The archaeology of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Matisoff, James A. 2003. Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman. Berkeley: University of California Press. Sagart, Laurent. 1999. The roots of Old Chinese. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Schuessler, Axel. 2007. An etymological dictionary of Old Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 30