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

Li, Xin; Zhang, Shanjia; Lu, Minxia; Qiu, Menghan; Wen, Shaoqing; Ma, Minmin

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab6783

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The Shang and Zhou Dynasty rose and developed between ~3500 and 2200 BP in the middle-lower Yellow River valley. The population increased rapidly during that period, although the climate was relatively cold and dry in comparison with that from 4300 to 3500 BP, according to the record in historical documents such as ‘Zhushujinian’ and the high-resolution paleoclimate record in the area (Chen et al, 2015b; Li et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2005, 2018). The survival pressure in the NCP during 3500–2500 BP most likely promoted the diversification of subsistence strategy, including the extensive cultivation of wheat (Li et al, 2020), the herding of cattle and sheep/goat, and the maximum use of local wild mammals, as exemplified by Nanfangshui and Yinjiacheng sites (Figure 3c).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The spatiotemporal variations in livelihood patterns in northern China suggest the influences of multiple factors, such as climate change (Jia et al, 2016; Li et al, 2020), cultural development (Frachetti, 2012; Jia et al, 2013), geographical setting (Wang et al, 2016), and long-distance cultural exchange (Dong et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2019). However, the major influential factor of the transformation of subsistence strategy during 5000–2500 BP remains unclear, and it may be different depending on the exact time, space, and scale of the discussion.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Isotopic evidence, nevertheless, suggests that local societies were primarily dependent on millets (Cheung et al, 2019; Hou et al, 2013). It was probably only after 2700 BP that wheat was adopted as one important staple in the NCP, which was another crucial change in the agricultural activities in the Late Bronze Age (Li et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of early trans-Eurasian exchange on animal utilization in northern China during 5000–2500 BP

Dong

Wang

2020

The Holocene

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Transcontinental exchange emerged and intensified in northern China since the late fifth millennium BP (Before present), especially in the arc, which was the core area of the eastern part of the trans-Eurasian exchange during the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age. In the arc, the exchange profoundly affected the human subsistence strategy and human-environment relationship. Relative to the crop patterns and human diets during the Bronze Age in northern China, systematic investigations of zooarcheological data based on broad spatial and temporal framework to understand the influence of introduced livestock and indigenous livestock on human subsistence are lacking. To show the spatial-temporal variation in animal utilization patterns and its relation to prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange, the zooarcheological data from 40 sites in northern China dated between 5000 and 2500 BP were analyzed. The strategy of animal utilization in northern China changed substantially from 5000 to 2500 BP, with notable spatial features in different chronological phases. From 5000 to 4300 BP, wild mammals and indigenous livestock (pig, dog) use dominated in the arc and the North China Plain (NCP). During 4300–3500 BP, the importance of introduced livestock (cattle, sheep/goat, horse) exceeded that of indigenous livestock in the arc, whereas indigenous livestock continued to dominate in the NCP. Indigenous livestock acted as the most important animal subsistence in northern China, although the exploitation of introduced livestock increased during 3500–2000 BP. These spatio-temporal differences in animal utilization appear to be closely associated with the prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange, but were also affected by local environment, agriculture development, and climate change.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of early trans-Eurasian exchange on animal utilization in northern China during 5000–2500 BP

Dong

Wang

2020

The Holocene

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“…It is the subsequent period of 1000 BCE to the Qin Empire (221 -206 BCE) that finally sees a decline in millet use in the Central Plains (Figure 5d; Li et al, 2020). The Shang Dynasty (ca.…”

Section: Spatiotemporal Variation In Stable Carbon Isotopic Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of stable isotopic data for human bone collagen: A study of the broad dietary patterns across ancient China

et al. 2020

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Ancient China is one of the most important regions for the development of agriculture in human history, contributing the two key crops millet and rice. Meanwhile, it was closely connected to the wider Eurasian network, receiving wheat and barley from the West. Because of the large isotopic differences between C3 and C4 crops, we are able to track their changing importance in different regions of China and underlying connections to their cultural and environmental contexts. We take a ‘big data’ approach, assembling the stable isotopic measurements on over 2000 ancient human bones. This is the first comprehensive meta-analysis of ancient Chinese human stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results and creates a more efficient tool for scholars to establish a fuller picture of dietary practices in ancient China. By charting their spatial-temporal variation, we can show that the primary crop facilitating the rise of the early Chinese state in the Central Plains was millet, particularly during the Bronze Age. The dominance of millet (C4), from an isotopic viewpoint, offers an opportunity to investigate the major changes in dietary practice through the proxy of δ13C, as a result of shifts between millet and other major C3 crops (rice, wheat and barley). More importantly, millet is probably one of the earliest examples for the existing local system in the Central Plains within which other imported elements (e.g. wheat) have to fit. This pattern, which has also been repetitively discovered with bronze and iron technology in later periods, starts to characterise some intrinsic features of Chinese prehistory.

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“…a BP (Hou et al, 2013). Moreover, the carbon isotopes of human bones from multiple Shang–Zhou period cemeteries in the Central Plains also show C 4 signals, suggesting that the consumption of C 3 crops was rarer at that time (Li et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2003; Zhou and Garvie-Lok, 2015). Isotopic evidence shows that humans simultaneously consumed large proportions of C 3 and C 4 crops in the middle and lower Yellow River valley until the Han dynasty, when wheat/barley likely became staple crops (Hou et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How did trans-Eurasian exchanges affect spatial-temporal variation in agricultural patterns during the late prehistoric period in the Yellow River valley (China)?

Yang

Chen

et al. 2020

The Holocene

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The introduction of wheat into China between ~4500 and 4000 cal. a BP is thought to have restructured the ancient Chinese agricultural system and contributed to the formation and development of Chinese civilization. However, the spatial variation in agricultural development before and after the introduction of exotic crops across the Yellow River valley has not yet been discussed in detail. Here, we report new archaeobotanical data and radiocarbon dates from 25 sites in Sanmenxia, Henan Province, which was a hub for human migration in the middle reach of the Yellow River. Integrating our data with those of other archaeobotanical studies in northern China confirms that spatial cropping patterns in the Yellow River valley changed significantly around 4000 cal. a BP in the context of trans-Eurasia exchanges. From 7000 to 4000 cal. a BP, millet crops in the upper and middle Yellow River valley dominated the agricultural system, while mixed millet and rice agriculture developed in the lower Yellow River valley. In the subsequent period (4000–2200 cal. a BP), the cropping system in the upper Yellow River valley changed predominantly to barley and wheat agriculture, supplemented with millets. The contemporaneous cropping system in the middle and lower Yellow River valley, however, was dominated by millets, supplemented with wheat and rice. We argue that technological innovation and its dissemination in the context of trans-Eurasian cultural exchanges provided the basis for changes in the agricultural systems in northern China during the Bronze Age. Additionally, the trajectory of agricultural development was influenced by the natural environment and social change in different regions of the Yellow River valley.

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

Cited by 29 publications

References 63 publications

The impact of early trans-Eurasian exchange on animal utilization in northern China during 5000–2500 BP

The impact of early trans-Eurasian exchange on animal utilization in northern China during 5000–2500 BP

Synthesis of stable isotopic data for human bone collagen: A study of the broad dietary patterns across ancient China

How did trans-Eurasian exchanges affect spatial-temporal variation in agricultural patterns during the late prehistoric period in the Yellow River valley (China)?

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