A recent article sheds light on the Altai Mountains as a key region in the process of spread of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) from China west and across Eurasia. This would begin at an earlier period of the Bronze Age than that discussed in an article I shared here in a few weeks ago./1 The Altai Mountains are in the area of the borders of present day China, Russia, Mongolia, and Khazakhstan. /2 Tan, B., Tang, L., Lu, C. *et al.* "Millet in the Bronze Age Altai Mountains: discovery, progress and research prospects." *npj Heritage Science* *13*, 299 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-025-01871-z /3 Abstract: "The Altai Mountains were a main channel and a key connection for the spread of millet, but little is known about the spatiotemporal process and route of its spread. In this paper, the multiple evidences of millet transmission in the Altai Mountains in the Bronze Age are reviewed; the spatiotemporal process and possible pathways of millet’s dissemination is discussed; Future research priorities and possible directions of breakthroughs are proposed." Comments: This is another important piece in the picture of the spread of proso and foxtail millets. It is a topic that various researchers have /4 The period examined seems broad, extending through different eras within the Bronze Age,/5 and into the early Iron Age. There's a lot of interesting information and analysis here. For me, it would have helped to have a summary of findings by period. One problem, which I consider to be significant, is that one has to dig halfway into the article to verify that the authors are indeed writing about two millets - proso and foxtail. That could have been made clear at the beginning. Although at one point the authors note the "distinct thermal and hydrological adaptations" of these two millets, there was no discussion of whether the data woould enable exploration of sub-narratives for each of them in the story of millets' presence in Altai. There was discussion of how "Starch grains from cultivated millets exhibited near-identical morphological overlap with wild progenitors and relatives, notably Setaria viridis (green foxtail) and Panicum bisulcatum (panic grass)," but I saw no mention of whether one might still be able to distinguish Setarias from Panicums. Definitely worth reading if you are like me interested in the (pre)history of dissemination of millets. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US - +1 202-621-3911) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. "Proso millet improved life in late Bronze Age Europe," Collab, 31 Jan 2026 https://lists.millets2023.space/archives/list/collab@lists.millets2023.space... 2, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altai_Mountains 3. The full list of authors: Bo Tan, Lei Tang, Chao Lu, Lai Jiang, Jinmeng Tang, Liyuan Zheng, Yong Zhang, Wensheng Zhang & Chengbang An 4. Regarding proso in particular, see for example: "Early history of proso millet in Europe (2022 book)," Collab, 30 Jul 2024 https://lists.millets2023.space/archives/list/collab@lists.millets2023.space... & the article by Harriet Hunt, et al mentioned in "Lessons from antiquity (& the 1990s) for the marketing of proso millet today?" Collab, 26 Jan 2024 https://lists.millets2023.space/archives/list/collab@lists.millets2023.space... 5. For an overview of that period, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age