An ancient grain gets a boost from archaeology

Cultivation of millet in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been on the rise ever since archaeologists presented evidence that the grain originated there.

In Aohan Banner, Chifeng city, 60,000 hectares of millet are under cultivation, about 4 percent of the national crop, said Qiu Wenbo, head of the banner.

Carbonized grains of millet were found in Aohan in the early 2000s, a discovery suggesting that millet had become a staple food of people there about 8,000 years ago, said Zhao Zhijun of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Archaeology.