Scientists have found the oldest known domesticated rice. The handful of 15,000-year-old burnt grains was discovered by archaeologists in Korea. Their age challenges the accepted view that rice cultivation originated in China about 12,000 years ago. The rice is genetically different from the modern food crop, which will allow researchers to trace its evolution. Today's rice is the primary food for over half the world's population, with 576,280,000 tonnes produced in 2002. Rice is especially important in Asia, where it is responsible for almost a third of all calorific 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 the Chungbuk Province. Radioactive dating of the 59 grains of carbonised rice has pushed back the date for the earliest known cultivation of the plant.

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