Over the past few days, scientists have been buzzing from the discovery that rice paddies, excavated in Thanh Den (Me Linh District, Hanoi), which are estimated to be 3000 years old (of Dong Dau culture), have sprouted. The public however, has doubts over the authenticity of this information.
We went to meet Bui Huu Tien, a specialist from the Museum of Anthropology (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), who was the first person to discover and witness these paddies sprouting in hopes of clearing up any doubt surrounding this matter.
Paddies found in Thanh Den have sprouted and are developing well. Beside are modern paddies grown to later be compared with the ancient paddies.
Tien said that the first paddy was found on May 5. In the following days, he continously discovered many other paddies at a depth of 1 - 1.3 metres under ground. He then soaked the the paddies in water assuming that they had become spoiled and were no longer useful. After consulting with a few paleobotanists, Tien reduced the amount of water in the tray containing the paddies and left them to be at a moistrue level similar to the level where they were discovered.
On May 5, Tien had to take a trip to Hanoi and when returned on May 11, to his surprise 8 paddies had begun to sprout and were quite long. According to Tien, these paddies probably sprouted on May 9. If it is true that these sprouted paddies date back 3000 years and are of Dong Dau culture, this will be a truly unique phenomenon.
According to both theory and reality, no paddies that could naturally remain this intact for thousands of years have ever been recorded. Under normal circumstances, paddies will lose their ability to sprout after a few years in nature or a few dozen years if frozen.
Since the discovery, many different ideas have been put forth to explain this rare phenomenon. Some say that these paddies may have been brought to the excavation area by mice or that they are not thousands of years old.
In response to this idea, Tien stated that it is only a subjective suggestion if the person has not seen the excavation site, "During the process of directly excavating the site, we did not find any digging marks or mice holes, straw or rice stubble. This proves that the paddies found could not have been brought down by mice."
Until now, 10 paddies found at the excavation site have sprouted and been looked after at the Agricultural Genetics Institute. These sprouted paddies are being grown in a plastic container and kept in a 2-layer mesh house to prevent mice and birds from attacking the paddies.
Dr. Pham Xuan Hoi, head of the Molecular Disease Department, directly looks after these special sprouted paddies and said that they are still growing well in its natural environment. Along with them, Hoi has also sowed a few mordern Vietnamese and Indian rice varieties to compare later.
However, Hoi is concerned that with the approaching scorching hot weather, it could effect the development of these paddies, especially when these paddies are not growing in season. "In the worst-case scenario, we will seperate the germ in the labroratory in order to preserve this variety and for us to continue growing it in the coming season," Hoi added.
According to Hoi's estimation, these sprouted paddies will start to produce seeds in about 100 days. A modern rice variety's development progress takes about 3 months, but these old varieties would probably take 4 to 6 months to fully grow.
The matter of most concern right now is to determine the age of these paddies. Some have suggested that standard radiocarbon dating method (C14) be used. However, according to Tien, a large amount of paddy samples are needed for this method to work, while the total number of paddies that have been found is only about 100. It would be a waste to have this precious amount of paddies destroyed.
Tien suggested that AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) radiocarbon dating method be used instead as this method requires smaller samples but produces precise dates. This technology is not currently available in Vietnam. Portions of these rice paddies will be sent overseas for their age to be determined by foreign specialists.
Due to AMS's high cost, the archeologist team will request for financial support from the Hanoi Museum (the unit that provided funding for the excavation trip in Thanh Den). If this isn't successful, the team will seek other sponsors in order to determine the date of these paddies in the shortest time possible.
Tien goes back to check and take a picture of the paddies progress daily.