An Isotopic Perspective on Animal Husbandry at the Xinzhai Site During the Initial Stage of the Legendary Xia Dynasty (2070–1600 BC)

Dai, Lingling; Li, Z. P.; Zhao, Chen; Yuan, Jing; Hou, Lingling; Wang, C. S.; Fuller, Benjamin T.

doi:10.1002/oa.2503

Cited by 36 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…, , ,b, ; Hou et al ., , b; Zhang and Zhao ; Dai et al . ), which confirms the importance of pigs in human society as meat, as well as their close relationship with humans.…”

Section: Research Progresssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…, , ; Hou et al ., ,b; Zhang and Zhao ; Dai et al . ). This dietary similarity strongly suggests that humans had a close relationship with dogs and that dogs played an important part in human society, such as work and hunting animals, pets and so on.…”

Section: Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2016a,b; Dai et al . ), although complex agricultural system, including millets, rice, wheat, beans and hemp, were also developed at that time (Zhao , ).…”

Section: Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thirty‐Four Years of Stable Isotopic Analyses of Ancient Skeletons in China: an Overview, Progress and Prospects

2018

Archaeometry

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Stable isotope analysis of ancient skeletons has become a routine method and widely used to answer diverse archaeological questions related to the human (animal) diets since the initial study in 1977. However, this study in china is underestimated and much less unknown to international circles considering the infrequent publications in English journals. In this review paper, the research history in China was overviewed shortly and then, the research progresses concerning different research themes, such as the chronological trajectory of human diets, the development and spread of agriculture, the mechanism of animal domestication, human social hierarchy, and so on, were introduced in detail, trying to draw a rough framework of human dietary evolution given the unique Chinese geography and cultures. At last, the potential research directions were also suggested for the future studies. KEYWORDS: STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS, SKELETON, CHINA, ARCHAEOLOGY, DIETARY RECONSTRUCTION INTRODUCTIONSince the pioneering study published in 1977 (Vogel and van der Merwe 1977), the stable isotope analysis of archaeological skeletal tissues (bones or teeth) has developed quickly and the methodology has greatly improved, from the study of a single element (C) to multiple elements (C, N, H, O, S, Sr and more), from bulk sampling to sequential sampling and from bulk tissues to specific compounds (Makarewicz and Sealy 2015). Furthermore, the research themes have extended as well, from answering the simple questions on palaeodiets to revealing more complex and broader archaeological subjects (see the reviews of Lee-Thorp 2008;Schoeninger 2014;Makarewicz and Sealy 2015). Compared to Europe and the Americas, the studies of stable isotope analysis in China have been overlooked, probably due to the infrequent publication in English. This situation means that most international scholars have little idea of Chinese isotopic research, which hinders the potential academic exchange and cooperation between China and other countries. However, China has made incredible developments and achievements in this subject, and has become one of the most important and influential places in the world for archaeometrists to work.First, in this paper, an overview of the history of stable isotope analysis in China will be provided, and then the main research advances will be narrated in detail according to different research themes. Finally, the future areas of research will be discussed. In contrast to the first study undertaken in North America by geochemists (Vogel and van der Merwe 1977), the initial isotopic research in China was conducted by specialists in radiocarbon dating. The first isotopic study was published in 1984 by Professors Lianzhen Cai and Shihua Qiu in Archaeology, in Chinese (Cai and Qiu 1984). However, it was not until the late 1990s that this study was further developed in China.In 1998, the principle of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was reintroduced in the review by Professor Changsui Wang (1998). Later, the progress on how to...

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“…, , ,b, ; Hou et al ., , b; Zhang and Zhao ; Dai et al . ), which confirms the importance of pigs in human society as meat, as well as their close relationship with humans.…”

Section: Research Progresssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Research Progressmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Thirty‐Four Years of Stable Isotopic Analyses of Ancient Skeletons in China: an Overview, Progress and Prospects

2018

Archaeometry

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“…The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. did pigs and dogs eat a large amount of millet and millet by-products, but sheep, goats and cattle also consumed some millet and millet by-products based on the results of stable carbon isotope analysis(Hou et al 2013, Dai et al 2016, giving further evidence to the fact that human societies were heavily reliant on milletbased agriculture in the Central Plains from Proto-Shang to Western Zhou.It can be seen that the range of human δ 13 C values expanded and shifted towards C 3 plants during EasternZhou (p=0, supplementary table S2 and…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The Proto-Shang, the Shang and the Zhou dynasties (∼2000-221 BCE: Before Common Era) are key periods in the origin and evolution of ancient civilizations in China since the periods include the processes and mechanisms of social development in the Central Plains of China during the Bronze Age. However, human-environment interactions in the context of trans-Eurasia cultural exchange during that time are not well-understood. In this study, isotopic analysis and radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones from Xinancheng cemetery in southeast Shanxi Province are reported. It was deduced that, for the period ∼1000-800 BCE, humans buried in Xinancheng cemetery relied primarily on C 4 -based foods and upper-status individuals consumed more animal protein and probably C 3 crops. Also, considering the paleoclimate and other archaeological data of the Central Plains, the human diet and subsistence strategies changed significantly with more C 3 staples such as wheat being consumed during the Eastern Zhou (770-221 BCE), as evidenced by an increased intake of wheat by lower-status individuals and the development of a mixed wheat and millet agricultural system. It is argued that the socio-economic change around the late western Zhou-early eastern Zhou Dynasty occurred as a result of the necessity to adapt to the aggravation caused by climate deterioration and population pressures, factors which profoundly influenced the economic and lifestyle patterns in ancient China. The socio-economic system of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty displayed more resilience to climate change than that of earlier periods.

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“…Wild C 4 plants were rare whereas C 3 plants were abundant along the upper Huai River Valley, hence, domestic pigs were probably controlled in pens and fed with by‐products of cultivated millets by humans rather than raised in a free‐range manner. This strategy of pig husbandry was prevalent throughout the Yangshao Cultural period and continued until the late Longshan period (4,500–4,000 bp ) when new crop species, such as wheat, were being introduced (Chen et al, ; Dai et al, ; Pechenkina et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into the strategy of pig husbandry combining zooarchaeological and stable isotopic approaches at Neolithic Houjiazhai, China

Dai

Kan

Zhang

2019

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Huai River, the third longest river in China, runs parallel with and between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. It is the passageway for cultural communication between Northern and Southern China as well as an important distribution range of rice and millet mixed farming. Along the upper Huai River Valley, domestic pigs were discovered about 9,000 years ago at Jiahu. Nevertheless, chronological changes regarding strategies of pig utilization and husbandry in subsequent periods along the whole Huai River Valley are still ambiguous. Thus, this current study integrating zooarchaeological and stable isotopic approaches on faunal assemblage from Neolithic Houjiazhai(7,300–5,200 cal BP) along the middle Huai River Valley was performed to discuss related issues. Our results indicate that (1) hunting and fishing activities contributed almost equally to human meat sources as the domestic pig and (2) domestic pigs were most likely kept in a free‐range manner and foraged around human residences as their wild counterparts did. Dietary differences of ancient Sus populations among sites from the Central Plain area and the Huai River Valley were observed, which were closely linked to crop cultivation and abundance of wild animal resources. This stimulated us to consider the diversities in terms of pig husbandry strategy in ancient China.

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An Isotopic Perspective on Animal Husbandry at the Xinzhai Site During the Initial Stage of the Legendary Xia Dynasty (2070–1600 BC)

Cited by 36 publications

References 34 publications

Thirty‐Four Years of Stable Isotopic Analyses of Ancient Skeletons in China: an Overview, Progress and Prospects

Thirty‐Four Years of Stable Isotopic Analyses of Ancient Skeletons in China: an Overview, Progress and Prospects

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

An investigation into the strategy of pig husbandry combining zooarchaeological and stable isotopic approaches at Neolithic Houjiazhai, China

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