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Analysis of the faunal assemblage unearthed from Xinzhai since 2002 suggests that the number of caprids (sheep and goats) increased rapidly starting in Phase II. The percentage of caprids in the Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) counts is second only to pigs, which indicates that caprids were one of the most important domestic animals at the site. Age profiles based on tooth eruption/wear and epiphyseal fusion showed that a large percentage (more than 70%) of caprids lived to adulthood through older ages while less than 30% of them were killed between the ages of six months to two years old. This pattern is similar to what has also been found at the site of Taosi. At both Xinzhai and Taosi, caprid kill-off patterns are more similar to what is expected due to wool exploitation rather than meat exploration. Therefore, people in the China’s Central Plains utilized animal resources in diverse ways at the end of the Neolithic.

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