Tracing the locality of prisoners and workers at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang: First Emperor of China (259-210 BC)

Abstract

The mausoleum complex of the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), is one of the most famous and important archaeological sites in China, yet questions remain as to how it was constructed and by whom. Here we present isotopic results of individuals from the Liyi (n = 146) and Shanren sites (n = 14), both associated with the mausoleum complex. Those buried at Liyi represent the local workers/inhabitants of the Qin population, and the δ13C (−8.7 ± 1.5%) and δ15N (10.3 ± 0.7%) values indicate that they consumed predominately millet and/or domestic animals fed millet. In contrast, the Shanren individuals were prisoners forced to construct the mausoleum (found buried haphazardly in a mass grave and some in iron leg shackles), and their δ13C (−15.4 ± 2.9%) and δ15N (8.0 ± 0.6%) results indicate a more mixed C3/C4 diet, with possibly less domestic animals and more wild game protein consumed. This pattern of decreased millet consumption is also characteristic of archaeological sites from southern China, and possible evidence the Shanren prisoners originated from this region (possibly the ancient Chu state located in modern day Hubei Province and parts of Hunan and Anhui Provinces). Further, this finding is in agreement with historical sources and is supported by previous ancient DNA evidence that the mausoleum workers had diverse origins, with many genetically related to southern Chinese groups.

Breastfeeding, weaning, and dietary practices during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1122–771 BC) at Boyangcheng, Anhui Province, China

“…For example, both rice and millet agricultural remains have been found at the Yuchisi (4600 BP) and Yuhuicun (4500–4000 BP) sites of Anhui province (Wang and Wu, ; Xu, ). At Boyangcheng the isotopic results of the humans show that individuals preferred to consume rice but were more likely to feed their domestic animals (cattle, horses, and some pigs) with millet, and similar subsistence practices were also found at other sites of the rice–millet blended zone of China (Chen, Luo, Hu, Zhu, & Wang, ; Fu et al, ; Guo et al, ; Ma et al, ).…”

“…As millet and rice agriculture were established in north and south China respectively, individuals who migrate between these C 4 and C 3 zones can potentially experience a dietary change and exhibit this in their bone collagen isotopic ratios. This isotopic approach was previously used by Ma et al () to examine the origins of workers and prisoners that built the mausoleum complex for the First Emperor of China (Qin Shi Huang, 259–210 BC). The possibility that these five individuals migrated to Boyangcheng is consistent with the historical accounts and archaeological evidence that the Dongyi from the Shandong area moved to the Jianghuai region due to their long‐running conflicts with the Western Zhou Dynasty (Figure b).…”

Isotopic reconstruction of diet at the Vandalic period (ca. 5th–6th centuries AD) Theodosian Wall cemetery at Carthage, Tunisia

“…In contrast, the two deer have slightly 13 C‐depleted results (~ −21‰–22‰) compared to the cattle and horses and one deer has a low δ 15 N value (6.8‰) while the other deer has an extremely elevated δ 15 N value (12.8‰). Deer commonly have 13 C‐depleted results compared to domestic animals at different sites around the world due to feeding on C 3 plants from the natural environment (e.g., Dai et al, 2016; Fischer et al, 2007; Fuller et al, 2012; Ma et al, 2016a; 2016b). However, the high δ 15 N value is very atypical and could possibly indicate aridity or some other unique environmental or dietary condition (Hartman, 2011; Szpak, 2014).…”

“…Stable isotope ratio analysis of archaeological human and faunal remains has been a major technique for palaeodietary studies for over the last 40 years (DeNiro & Epstein, 1981; Schoeninger & DeNiro, 1984; van der Merwe & Vogel, 1978). It has provided invaluable data with which to better understand the dietary patterns among ancient populations worldwide (e.g., Richards, Fuller, & Molleson, 2006; Fuller et al, 2012; Mannino et al, 2015; Guiry et al, 2016; Ma et al, 2016a; 2016b; Phaff, Burley, & Richards, 2016; Commendador, Finney, Fuller, Tromp, & Dudgeon, 2019). It has been used to determine the diet of a variety of historic civilizations around the Mediterranean, such as the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, and Medieval populations (e.g., Bourbou, Fuller, Garvie‐Lok, & Richards, 2011; Craig et al, 2009; Fuller, Marquez‐Grant, & Richards, 2010; Keenleyside, Schwarcz, Stirling, & Lazreg, 2009; Killgrove & Tykot, 2013; Prowse, Schwarcz, Saunders, Macchiarelli, & Bondioli, 2004, 2005; Rissech et al, 2016; Rutgers, van Strydonck, Boudin, & Van der Linde, 2009).…”

Reconstructing diets and subsistence strategies of the Bronze Age humans from the Central Plains of China: A stable isotopic study on the Nanwa site

“…Most of the pig, dog, and cattle from the Erlitou period to Eastern Zhou Dynasty had relatively high δ 13 C values indicating a C 4 ‐based diet, presumably derived from millet or their by‐products (IACASS, ; Si, ; Zhang X.L. et al, a; Chen et al, ; Ma et al, a, b; Hou et al, ; Hou & Xu, ; Wang, Li, Li, Hu, & Song, ; Yan, ; Zhou et al, ; Zhou et al, ). It suggests that millet was not only the dominant crop for humans but also fodder for the majority of domesticated animals during the Bronze Age.…”