Number of cereal plants, belonging to different genera, are described as millets. Broomcorn or common millet (Panicum miliaceum) is rarely grown today, but it had a much wider distribution in the past. The earliest finds are from Neolithic central and eastern Europe, spreading into southern Europe during the Bronze Age. Its origin is uncertain, but it is possible that it was first domesticated in China. Foxtail or Italian millet (Setaria italica) was almost certainly first domesticated in China: S. italica grains have been identified at Banpo dating from the 5th millennium bc. Millet was the chief crop of the Shang and Zhou empires, but barley and wheat began to replace it toward the end of the Eastern Zhou period. In Europe, most finds of foxtail millet come from the Bronze Age of the Alpine region. Today it is still widely grown, particularly in China and India. Bulrush millet (Pennisetum americanum) is commonly cultivated in the Sahel region of Africa and was probably first cultivated in this area. Panicum, Setaria and Pennisetum are all members of the tribe Panicae of the Grass family. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) belongs to the tribe Chloridae. It is widely grown in central Africa and India, and probably originated in Africa. See also African
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied