Abstract
The alterative process of cultivated rice and the development of rice cultivation in Burma during the period from the Pyu Kingdom to the 19th century were investigated on the basis of data obtained from rice husks embedded in old bricks used in ancient architectural structures. A total of 82 brick samples collected at several historical sites in Central Burma were investigated. The characteristics of cultivated rice were determined by the grain types in terms of length and width of rice husks : the round type (A type), the large type (B type), and the slender type (C type) corresponded to early-maturing paddy, upland rice, and late-maturing paddy, respectively.
The round type was predominant in bricks made during the Pyu Kingdom and the Pagan Dynasty and remained so up to the 19th century. However, the slender type began to appear with higher frequency, mainly in the area surrounding Kyaukse, in the 12th century and gradually increased during the Shan-Burmese Dynasty and the Toungoo Dynasty. These results suggest that early-maturing varieties were widely cultivated in Central Burma before late-maturing varieties, presently the most common type in Burma, began to be extensively introduced in the late 19th century.
