Rice farming mediated internal competition and reduced external risks during the Neolithic period

Rice cultivation and domestication are among the most transformative processes in human history, yet the internal driving forces behind these developments remain unclear. To address this, we integrated archaeological and palaeo-environmental data to develop a quantitative land-use model using an agent-based model (ABM). This model simulates human behavior and settlement development in the Yaojiang Valley on the east coast of China, a key region of the Neolithic Hemudu Culture with prolonged history of rice cultivation and domestication. We tested two scenarios: one with rice farming and one without. The results revealed that as population and settlements expanded, competition for resources intensified in both scenarios, leading to significant overlap in heavily utilized areas. However, rice cultivation provided additional and stable food sources, reduced the frequency, distance and risk associated with resource gathering, which in turn minimized competition among settlements and provided a strategic advantage for community survival. This strategy likely contributed to the emergence of smaller and more numerous settlements practicing rice farming during the late Hemudu period. Our research findings suggest that rice farming was adopted as a strategy to mitigate intra-settlement competition, underscoring the value of agent-based model in analyzing complex social-cultural dynamics.