Interdisciplinary study on dietary complexity in Central China during the Longshan Period (4.5–3.8 kaBP): New isotopic evidence from Wadian and Haojiatai, Henan Province

Abstract

Central China is one of the key regions of the world that sees the transition from early Neolithic urbanization into the social complexity of Bronze Age civilizations. Previous evidence had indicated that the diets of humans and the feeding strategies of livestock in Central China during the Longshan Period (4.5–3.8 kaBP) became more complex and diverse, including the widespread introduction of cattle and sheep, and the coexistence of different human dietary groups within several settlements. Within this paper new and pre-existing stable isotope analyses from human ( n = 31) and animal bones ( n = 76) recovered from Wadian and Haojiatai, two important Longshan sites in the southeast of Central China, are integrated with multiproxy data from archaeological, environmental, and cultural contexts to interpret the social conditions behind dietary complexity from an interdisciplinary perspective. We suggest that the feeding strategies of cattle and sheep from Western Asia were successfully adapted to the pre-existing local millet farming subsistence regimes, and that the different human dietary groups seen corresponded to continuing diversified subsistence strategies that included millet farming, rice farming, and hunter-gathering. This dietary complexity is considered as a reflection of different patterns within the cultural interactions in Central China during the Longshan Period that saw the mixing of populations with diversified cultural backgrounds. This is represented by the introduction of extraneous livestock and the coexistence of millet and rice farmers at Wadian, and the continued expansion of millet agriculture within Central China indicated by the coexistence of millet farmers and hunter-gatherers at Haojiatai.

Geostatistical and geoarchaeological study of Holocene floodplains and site distributions on the Sha‐Ying River Basin, Central China

“…), there was a sharp increase in settlement numbers, and it appeared that the entire region, especially the low‐lying floodplains, had been almost fully exploited, even including some places that had more dramatic hydrological fluctuations as indicated by higher flooding conditions and where the degree of soil development was very low. Millet cultivation and hunting–gathering–fishing activities were adopted by some Longshan period sites (Li et al, 2021; Zhou 2017). This change might reflect the fact that under a much drier and cooler climate regime around 4200 B.P., widely recognized as the so‐called 4.2 kaB.P.…”

“…However, as one of the most active fluvial landforms that are profoundly affected by volatile hydrodynamic and sedimentation regimes, floodplains also produce highly complex environmental records (Boyer et al, 2006; A. Brown, 1997; A. G. Brown, 2002; T. Brown, 2002; Ferring, 2001; Howard & Macklin, 1999; Li et al, 2021; Nanson & Croke, 1992; Storozum et al, 2020). Unpacking the relationship between the evolution of floodplain environments and the history of human occupation therefore faces enormous challenges resulting from the intrinsic complexity of environmental processes and data abstraction procedures.…”

“…G. Brown, 2002;T. Brown, 2002;Ferring, 2001;Howard & Macklin, 1999;Li et al, 2021;Nanson & Croke, 1992;Storozum et al, 2020). Unpacking the relationship between the evolution of floodplain environments and the history of human occupation therefore faces enormous challenges resulting from the intrinsic complexity of environmental processes and data abstraction procedures.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue: Correlating changes for environmental, technological and societal transformation in prehistoric eastern Asia

“…This is also reflected by the different stone toolkits used for agriculture and hunter-gathering at both sites. The fact that millet became the major source of fodder for sheep and cattle, as suggested by the stable isotopic data of the faunal remains, means that these two imported animal species were successfully assimilated into the local subsistence strategy (Li et al, 2021). Dong et al (2021c) discovered significant synchronic and diachronic variation in the foodways of the Dawenkou culture in Shandong.…”

“…Another methodological paper in this Special Issue is published by Zhou et al (2021). Based on the carbon stable isotopic fractionation over the photosynthetic process, it is expected to see a correlation between water supply and the carbon isotope discrimination (△ 13 C) values.…”