Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun
The first millennium BC saw the expansion of the Western Zhou dynasty in its northwestern frontier, alongside the rise and development of the Qin State in the Longshan Mountain region of northern China. Exploring the subsistence practices of these communities is crucial to gaining a better understan...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| author | Tianyu Zong Borui Du Chengrui Zhang Feng Sun Zexian Huang Ruoxin Cheng Kexin Liu Tao Shui Yongan Wang Yue Li |
| author_facet | Tianyu Zong Borui Du Chengrui Zhang Feng Sun Zexian Huang Ruoxin Cheng Kexin Liu Tao Shui Yongan Wang Yue Li |
| author_sort | Tianyu Zong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The first millennium BC saw the expansion of the Western Zhou dynasty in its northwestern frontier, alongside the rise and development of the Qin State in the Longshan Mountain region of northern China. Exploring the subsistence practices of these communities is crucial to gaining a better understanding of the social, cultural, and political landscape in this region at the time. While much of the research to date has focused on the Qin people, the subsistence practices of the Zhou people remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed animal remains from Yucun, a large settlement site associated with the Zhou people, located to the east of the Longshan Mountain. These animal remains were recovered in the excavation seasons of 2018–2020. Our results show that pigs, dogs, cattle, caprines, and horses, which were the major domestic animals at Yucun, accounted for over 90.8% of the animal remains examined in terms of the number of identified specimens (NISP) and 72.8% in terms of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), with cattle and caprines playing dominant roles. In terms of the taxonomic composition and the mortality profiles of pigs, caprines, and cattle, Yucun shared similarities with Maojiaping and Xishan, two contemporaneous Qin cultural sites located to the west of the Longshan Mountain, and differ from other farming societies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River valley. Considering the cultural attributes and topographic conditions of these various sites, these findings imply that environmental conditions may have played a more significant role than cultural factors in shaping the animal-related subsistence practices in northern China during the first millennium BC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:03:53Z |
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| id | doaj.art-b7bdfb1b733d4357bae18251d112979e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:03:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7bdfb1b733d4357bae18251d112979e2023-12-22T13:47:17ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-12-011324376510.3390/ani13243765Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of YucunTianyu Zong0Borui Du1Chengrui Zhang2Feng Sun3Zexian Huang4Ruoxin Cheng5Kexin Liu6Tao Shui7Yongan Wang8Yue Li9School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaInstitute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaDepartment of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAGansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou 730015, ChinaSchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaSchool of History, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaGansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou 730015, ChinaSchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaThe first millennium BC saw the expansion of the Western Zhou dynasty in its northwestern frontier, alongside the rise and development of the Qin State in the Longshan Mountain region of northern China. Exploring the subsistence practices of these communities is crucial to gaining a better understanding of the social, cultural, and political landscape in this region at the time. While much of the research to date has focused on the Qin people, the subsistence practices of the Zhou people remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed animal remains from Yucun, a large settlement site associated with the Zhou people, located to the east of the Longshan Mountain. These animal remains were recovered in the excavation seasons of 2018–2020. Our results show that pigs, dogs, cattle, caprines, and horses, which were the major domestic animals at Yucun, accounted for over 90.8% of the animal remains examined in terms of the number of identified specimens (NISP) and 72.8% in terms of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), with cattle and caprines playing dominant roles. In terms of the taxonomic composition and the mortality profiles of pigs, caprines, and cattle, Yucun shared similarities with Maojiaping and Xishan, two contemporaneous Qin cultural sites located to the west of the Longshan Mountain, and differ from other farming societies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River valley. Considering the cultural attributes and topographic conditions of these various sites, these findings imply that environmental conditions may have played a more significant role than cultural factors in shaping the animal-related subsistence practices in northern China during the first millennium BC.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3765ChinaBronze Agethe Longshan Mountain regionzooarchaeologysubsistence economyenvironmental conditions |
| spellingShingle | Tianyu Zong Borui Du Chengrui Zhang Feng Sun Zexian Huang Ruoxin Cheng Kexin Liu Tao Shui Yongan Wang Yue Li Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun Animals China Bronze Age the Longshan Mountain region zooarchaeology subsistence economy environmental conditions |
| title | Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun |
| title_full | Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun |
| title_fullStr | Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun |
| title_short | Animal Use Strategies in the Longshan Mountain Region of Northern China during the First Millennium BC: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Yucun |
| title_sort | animal use strategies in the longshan mountain region of northern china during the first millennium bc a zooarchaeological analysis of yucun |
| topic | China Bronze Age the Longshan Mountain region zooarchaeology subsistence economy environmental conditions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3765 |
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