3,500-Year-Old Rice Discovery Marks Longest Early Ocean Journey

Breakthrough research reveals ancient rice remains in Guam, offering insight into early Austronesian culture and a remarkable 2,300-kilometer early ocean journey—the longest of its time.


In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists have uncovered 3,500-year-old rice remains in Guam—evidence of an early ocean journey spanning 2,300 kilometers from the Philippines, marking the longest known seafaring voyage of its time. This ancient find sheds new light on Pacific migration, suggesting that early Austronesian voyagers transported rice as a culturally significant crop during their bold expansion across Remote Oceania.

This breakthrough, recently published in the journal Science Advances, challenges long-held assumptions about early agriculture and the migration patterns of Austronesian-speaking peoples across the Pacific.

The discovery was made at the Ritidian Site Complex in northern Guam, where researchers unearthed microscopic remnants of rice husks and leaves embedded in red-slipped pottery, locally known as Marianas Red. These rice phytoliths—tiny fossil-like silica structures left behind by plant cells—were dated using advanced radiocarbon techniques to between 3,500 and 3,100 years ago.

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Location of the Ritidian Site Complex in Guam and its context in the Asia-Pacific region. (A) The Mariana Islands in western Micronesia, showing Ritidian in Guam and Unai Bapot in Saipan. (B) Ritidian area with key sites and the ancient shoreline dated to 3500–3100 years B.P. (C) Main Austronesian migration routes from Island Southeast Asia into the Pacific (~4000–3500 years B.P.), based on archaeological, linguistic, and DNA evidence. Credit: Mike T. Carson et al. – Science Advances


The international research team, including experts from the University of Guam, the Australian National University, and institutes in China, utilized cutting-edge methods such as micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning and thin-section petrography to confirm the rice’s presence. The evidence provides critical insights into the movements of ancient Austronesian populations who originated from Taiwan and began migrating throughout Island Southeast Asia and into the Pacific around 4,200 years ago.

Although rice has long been a dietary staple in Taiwan and the Philippines, it was notably absent from most Pacific islands during the time of early European contact—with the unique exception of Guam and the Mariana Islands. These latest findings not only affirm that rice was present in Guam millennia earlier than previously thought, but also suggest it was carried across a 2,300-kilometer ocean voyage from the Philippines, representing the longest known seafaring journey of its era.

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https://arkeonews.net/3500-year-old-rice-discovery-marks-longest-early-ocean-journey/