Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the early history of the sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) usage in China

Abstract Although archaeobotanical data of sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) recovered from the sites in China had increased in recent years, the early history of human usage ways of this plant has received less attention. In this study, we collated and reevaluated all published macro-botanical data of lotus from China during 9000 − 1100 BP. The present findings suggest that Neolithic rice growers living in the middle and lower Yangtze and Yellow River basins had made extensive use of lotus roots and seeds as a supplementary starch-based food for subsistence. Furthermore, the medicinal and cultural use of the sacred lotus appears to have developed with the rise of China’s urban aristocracy from the mid-Warring States to the Late Tang Dynasty period. Our study provides the basis for further telling the story of the Chinese people’s long-term interaction with the plants of sacred lotus.