Yanan Zhao is a PhD candidate in the Department of Archaeology, University of Chinese Academy of Social Science, majoring in Chinese Archaeology. Her research interests include pottery function, plant use and alcohol production in prehistoric China. Now she mainly focuses on the agricultural development in the Central Plains of China, from the Middle to Late Neolithic Time, aiming to explore the social and subsistence importance of crops through time. She did several fieldworks in Henan and Gansu Province, including excavation and sampling for starch and phytolith analysis.