SEOUL, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- South Korean archaeologists have found the oldest known domesticated rice, dating back 15,000 years, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The age challenges the accepted view rice cultivation originated in China about 12,000 years ago.
Today's rice is the primary food for over half the world's population, with 576,280,000 tons produced in 2002.
Rice is especially important in Asia, where it is responsible for almost a third of all caloric intake.
The oldest known rice was discovered by Lee Yung-jo and Woo Jong-yoon of Chungbuk National University in South Korea.
They found the ancient grains during excavations in the village of Sorori in Chungbuk Province.
Radioactive dating of the 59 grains of carbonized rice has pushed back the date for the earliest known cultivation of the plant.
DNA analysis shows the early rice sample to be different from the modern intensively farmed varieties, thereby offering scientists the opportunity to study the evolution of one of the world's principal food sources.
