No abstract

No abstract

materials were observed in some pigment samples. When observed by SEM, one showed a large amount of fibre in solidified gum, which indicated that gum of ramie could have been used as the binding medium to make the pigment particles adhere together. These results provide significant insights into the characteristics of these pigments in the Qin and Han Dynasties.

The origins of agriculture and pottery were generally believed to contribute to the changes of human food resources and the innovations of cooking technologies in the Neolithic China. Hence, the investigations of the co-evolutions in human food resources, cooking technologies and pottery functions will provide a new perspective for understanding the ancient social developments. Here, taking the Mijiaya site as an example, we present the multiple analyses on the plant microfossils of pottery remains, the AMS 14C dating and isotopes of animal bones, and the types and textures of potteries in comparison with those from some surrounding sites in northern China during the Late Neolithic period. The results indicate that the diets of Mijiaya peoples (ca. 3093‒1961 cal BC) were heavily reliant on the diversified crops and livestock supplemented with some gathering plants and hunting animals; meanwhile, Mijiaya peoples used a variety of ways to refine the pottery functions for the complex food processing. Moreover, the food processing also potentially promoted the development in animal husbandry, basing on their feeding strategy and eating patterns. These preliminarily suggest that the coordinated development in the food, cooking and potteries had contributed to the social complexity in the Late Neolithic China.

Investigating the coevolutions in human food resources, cooking technologies and pottery functions will provide a vital perspective for understanding the driving force of social development in Neolithic China. Here, we preliminarily present a multianalytical study on the plant microfossils of pottery residues, the stable isotopic compositions and radiocarbon dating of animal bones, and the characteristics of pottery vessels (including their types, textures and smoked traces) from the Mijiaya site. The results indicate that the Mijiaya people (ca. 3093‒1961 cal. BC) probably relied on the various food resources consisting of the diversified crops, livestock and some foraging food; Mijiaya people  had refined the pottery functions by changing their types, textures and assemblages, and they also used some auxiliary tools for increasing the cooking efficiency and obtaining the complex foodstuff. Integrated with agricultural development and technological innovation during Neolithic China, the foodways at the Mijiaya site also shed light on its inherited social tradition and social organization in the Late Neolithic period.