Preliminary attempt to distinguish the domesticated pigs from wild boars by the methods of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis

Hu, Yaowu; Luan, Fengshi; Wang, Shougong; Wang, Changsui; Richards, Michael P.

doi:10.1007/s11430-008-0151-z

Cited by 59 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Here the isotopic data also indicate that both these species had a millet based diet which could have been because of the direct consumption of millets or millet byproducts (e.g. chaff and straw) as suggested previously at some Neolithic sites in northern China (Pechenkina et al ., ; Barton et al ., ; Hu et al ., ; Chen et al ., ; Liu et al ., 2012; Hou et al ., ). As discussed in the 6 th century text, Qi Min Yao Shu , millet grains were considered an excellent feed for the rapid fattening of piglets in ancient China, but it is not known how widespread this practice was in the Neolithic of China (Jia & Miu, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200–3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State‐Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China

Fang

et al. 2016

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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During the late Longshan period (ca. 4200–3900 BP) settlements on the Central Plains of China underwent a diversification in food production technologies, which set the stage for rapid economic and social development. The introduction of novel domesticates such as rice, wheat, cattle, and sheep not only provided more food choices, but also changed ideas concerning land use, farming techniques, and the use and mobilization of large scale labor forces. To better understand the contribution that these new dietary items and practices made to shaping the late Longshan period societies, a stable isotope ratio study of humans (n = 12) and animals (n = 42) was conducted at the late Longshan period site of Wadian. The human δ13C and δ15N values are clustered into two distinct groups. One group of nine individuals (δ13C = −9.9 ± 0.7‰; δ15N = 7.5 ± 0.5‰) had a predominately C4 diet based on millet grains with little protein input from the domestic animals. The other group of three individuals (δ13C = −14.3 ± 0.8‰; δ15N = 10.2 ± 0.3‰) had a mixed C3/C4 diet of millets and rice and were consuming sheep and cattle. The animals also displayed dietary diversity with the pigs (δ13C = −11.3 ± 2.5‰; δ15N = 6.9 ± 1.0‰, n = 10) and dogs (δ13C = −10.1 ± 1.0‰; δ15N = 7.2 ± 1.1‰, n = 7) having mostly a C4 plant based diet (millets). In contrast, the cattle (δ13C = −12.8 ± 2.1‰; δ15N = 7.6 ± 0.7‰, n = 9), sheep (δ13C = −16.7 ± 0.9‰; δ15N = 7.6 ± 0.1‰, n = 2), and cervids (δ13C = −20.8 ± 0.9‰; δ15N = 5.0 ± 1.2‰, n = 10) had diets with a greater contribution from C3 sources such as rice and wild plants. The discovery that humans and animals had different subsistence patterns indicates dietary complexity at Wadian and that rice agriculture, and cattle and sheep husbandry practices were already an important part of the local economy by the late Longshan period in the southern region of the Central Plains of China. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200–3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State‐Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China

Fang

et al. 2016

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…Similar to humans, the δ 13 C values of most pigs indicate that the pigs' diets were full of C 3 and C 4 foods, probably from rice and millet by-products [40]. Furthermore, millet-based foods contribute 36.8%±17.2% to pig diets, which suggests that millets were still a minor component in pig diets.…”

Section: Pig Dietary Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence of human and pig diets at the Qinglongquan site, China

Guo

Zhu³

et al. 2011

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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Previous studies on the Rice-Millet (foxtail millet and common millet) Blended Zone in Chinese Neolithic have not clearly addressed such questions as the importance of primitive rice-millet mixed agriculture to human lifestyle and livestock managements within this region, the relationship among the development of the agriculture, paleoenvironment, and cultural interactions, and so on. Here stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human and pig bones from the Qinglongquan site was conducted, covering two cultural phases, namely the Qujialing Culture (3000 BC to 2600 BC) and the Shijiahe Culture (2600 BC to 2200 BC). Based on this analysis, we further discussed the diets of ancient humans and pigs in the site, investigated the importance of rice-millet mixed agriculture to human and pig diets, and explored the relationship among the primitive rice agriculture and millet agriculture, cultural interactions, and paleoenvironment. The δ 13 C values of human bone collagen (−16.7‰ to −12.4‰, averaging −14.6‰ ±1.3‰, n=24) revealed that both C 3 and C 4 foods were consumed, probably from the contribution of rice (C 3 plant) and millets (C 4 plants) due to the coexistence of these crops at this site. In addition, the human mean δ 13 C value suggested that millet agriculture was only minor in human diets. The human δ 15 N values (6.6‰ to 10.8‰, averaging 9.0‰ ±1.2‰, n=24) showed that animal resources played a significant role in human diets, and varied greatly. The mean δ 13 C value of the pigs (−14.3‰ ±2.5‰, n=13) was quite similar to that of the humans, but the mean δ 15 N value of the pigs was slightly less (1.3‰). The similar δ 13 C and δ 15 N values between humans and pigs suggested that the pigs consumed a lot of humans' food remains. No correlations of the δ 13 C and δ 15 N values between humans and pigs showed that both human and pig diets were based mainly on plant foods, which might be related to highly developed rice-millet mixed agriculture at that time. In comparison with the human and pig diets between the two periods, millet agriculture contributed more than 10% in the Shijiahe Culture, if a simple mixing model was used. This apparent dietary shift matched the climatic variation and agricultural development through the time. In warm and humid climate with the expansion of the Qujialing Culture northwards, rice was widely cultivated. However, when the climate was cold and arid, northern culture was expanding southwards. Thus, millet agriculture became more important. paleodiet, the Rice-Millet Blended Zone, stable isotope, cultural interaction, paleoenvironment Citation:Guo Y, Hu Y W, Zhu J Y, et al. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence of human and pig diets at

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“…The δ 13 C values of pigs range widely from −11.0‰ to −21.7‰ (Table , Figure ) suggesting the consumption of both C 3 ‐based and C 4 ‐based foods. The mean δ 13 C values (−16.2 ± 3.3‰, n = 26) of the pigs are significantly 13 C‐enriched compared with other animals including deer, sheep/goat and dog (independent t ‐test, t = 3.88, p = 0.008 < 0.05), which may relate to human intervention in their feeding strategy with the use of C 4 plants (Hu et al ., ). A relatively wide range (5.4‰) of δ 15 N values is seen in the pigs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Diet Transition or Human Migration in the Chinese Neolithic? Dietary and Migration Evidence from the Stable Isotope Analysis of Humans and Animals from the Qinglongquan Site, China

Guo

Fan

et al. 2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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The Qinglongquan site, China, includes materials from the Neolithic Qujialing (3000-2600 BC) and Shijiahe (2600-2200 BC) periods, and lies within the Sui-Zao Corridor that connects the Nanyang Basin in the north and the Hanjiang River Plain in the south. Previous research suggested a dietary shift from rice-based to millet-based agriculture between the Qujialing and Shijiehe periods at this site. The reason for this dietary shift is still unclear, and it is possible because of immigration into the region by people who already had a mainly C 4 -millet-based diet (i.e. from Northern China). In this study, we examine the carbon (δ S results [4.3‰ to 8.8‰, average of 6.6 ± 1.3‰ (n = 31)], no evidence of migration was found for the humans with the different diets at the Qinglongquan site.

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Preliminary attempt to distinguish the domesticated pigs from wild boars by the methods of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis

Cited by 59 publications

References 24 publications

Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200–3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State‐Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China

Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200–3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State‐Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence of human and pig diets at the Qinglongquan site, China

Diet Transition or Human Migration in the Chinese Neolithic? Dietary and Migration Evidence from the Stable Isotope Analysis of Humans and Animals from the Qinglongquan Site, China

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