Rice!

Children forced over the years to eat rice pudding will not be surprised to learn that it was used in part to hold together China's historic fortifications.

The discovery by archaeologists may even prove the story passed down the centuries that sticky rice was used in building the Great Wall.

The archaeologists' conclusions are based on analysis of mortar from the walls of the ancient capital, Xi'an . . .

From the Telegraph. Meanwhile, Chinese archeologists are claiming to have found the oldest cultivated rice:

The rice finding pits China against South Korea, which also claims to have the world's oldest cultivated rice. . .

The five surface grains have yet to be scientifically dated, but Yuan stated the first kernel has been confirmed as being 12,000 years old. . .

Duncan Macintosh, spokesman for the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, questioned the finding. He pointed out that South Korean officials claim to have 59 burnt grains of rice that they say date back to 14,000-15,000 years ago.

"There has been a long-running debate between China, India, Korea and Thailand over the location of the oldest signs of cultivated rice," Macintosh told Discovery News.

The same article, however, notes that the Chinese have a solid claim to the first use of diamond abrasives:

For the gemstone study, Harvard University physicist Peter Lu and colleagues analyzed four incredibly sharp ceremonial stone axes that date to 4,000 B.C. and later. According to Xinhuanet, all were found within the tombs of wealthy individuals.

Amazed by the axes' sharp, clean edges, Lu studied them with X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, and an atomic force microscope. He and his colleagues determined that quartz and other hard materials could not have been used to create the axe points. Only polishing with diamonds could achieve such a fine finish. . .

A diamond source was located near one of the axe sites at Zhejiang Province. Lu and his team believe that ancient Chinese craftsmen once poured gravel over a surface covered with animal fat, which would have enabled the diamonds to stick, while the dirt and other rocks would have slid off.

Posted by David on March 2, 2005 10:07 AM