This study presents the results of a preliminary investigation on micro-botanical remains preserv... more This study presents the results of a preliminary investigation on micro-botanical remains preserved on Tolai hare (Lepus tolai) teeth recovered from Yangjiesha, a site located on the north of the Loess Plateau in China, dated circa. 4900B.P. The microscopic analysis reveal that starch grains from Triticeae, millets and their wild relatives as well as wood tissue fragments were identified in dental residues This implies that, in the context of the intensive development of millet farming at about 5000B.P., hares at Yangjiesha may have been active inside or near the agricultural settlement areas and formed long-term interactions with humans against the new agricultural ecology of the north Loess Plateau.
The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynas... more The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynasty in China. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a ditch containing approximately one hundred unusual dead human skulls in the rammed-earth foundations of the palace area. The identity and origin of the skulls have long been disputed. In this work, strontium, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were carried out on 11 human skulls and 1 tooth from the ditch, as well as on 11 human bones, 11 human teeth from the ordinary tombs and 10 pig teeth from the Zhengzhou Shang City site. We determined that, in Zhengzhou Shang City, the local strontium isotope ratio ranges from 0.711606 to 0.711884, and ordinary inhabitants consumed mainly C4 plants supplemented by C3 plants. Moreover, humans buried in the ditch have 87Sr/86Sr values from 0.711335 to 0.711741 and consumed only C4 plants. Combining the isotopic data with the archaeological and cultural context, it is concluded that the ...
Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replace... more Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replaced millet as the primary crop in the core regions of early Imperial China. Previous studies have suggested that wheat cultivation likely became widespread prior to or during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). Here, we tested this hypothesis by applying archeobotanical tools to plant remains found in five pottery model granaries (cang) entombed in a newly excavated late Western Han burial at the Longzaocun cemetery in the Guanzhong Basin. This analysis allowed us to explore the extent of wheat expansion and agricultural strategies in the heartland of early dynastic China. Macro- and micro-botanical evidence shows that the Longzaocun residents consumed two kinds of crops: foxtail and common millet. Combining these findings with previous studies, we argue that millet-based multi-crop farming dominated the regional agricultural system during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 8) and analyze the political and cultural motivations for the Han people’s usage on millet crops from the burial concepts and fiscal systems. Echoing previous studies, we argue that millets remained the most valuable subsistence food for inhabitants of the Loess Basins in the Han core, and that wheat was not cultivated on a large scale in this area during the Western Han Dynasty.
Recent studies have provided evidence of alcohol production and consumption in 16 sites in northe... more Recent studies have provided evidence of alcohol production and consumption in 16 sites in northern China during the Neolithic period, focusing on the Yangshao Culture (ca. 7,000-5,000 cal. BP). Yet, the comparison of similarities and differences in brewing technology and drinking patterns within the Yangshao Culture still needs more supporting information from case studies in different regions. In this paper, 17 pottery samples excavated from the Yangshao Culture site of Qingtai (ca. 5,500-4,750 cal. BP) in the central part of Henan Province were analyzed for microfossils (starch grains, phytoliths, fungi) and organic acids, on the basis of the theoretical model constructed from our simulation experiments. The results revealed a mixed filtered alcoholic beverage, likely to be fermented by fruit and/or honey. The ingredients were mainly foxtail millet, rice, Job's tears, Triticeae, snake gourd roots, lotus roots, legumes, nuts, fruits, and/or honey. What's more, we found that the jiandiping amphora from Qingtai was not likely used for brewing or drinking. In terms of prehistoric drinking habits, in the large-scale settlement of the late Yangshao Culture in China, it is possible that people drank filtered alcohol alone or that a few people drank filtered alcohol poured from the painted bottle, indicating a switch from communal drinking to individual drinking. This study sheds light on the similarities and differences in brewing techniques, fermentation ingredients, and drinking patterns among different regions of the late Neolithic Yangshao Culture, and deepens our understanding of alcoholic beverages in the early Chinese civilized societies.
Two different types of grinding stones, grinding slabs and rollers, as well as mortars and pestle... more Two different types of grinding stones, grinding slabs and rollers, as well as mortars and pestles from the Shuangdun site (ca. 7.3–6.8 ka BP) in the middle Huai River region, were subjected to starch grain analysis to investigate the evolution of plant food processing tools during the transition period from a gathering–fishing–hunting economy to farming. The results suggest that both types of grinding stones were used to process various plant species, including Triticeae, Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), and bean (Vigna spp.). However, starch grains of rice (Oryza sativa) were only discovered from mortar and pestle tools, indicating that mortars and pestles might have become a fixed combination tool for rice processing. Damage characteristics analysis for different kinds of starches indicated that mortars and pestles were also used for grinding plant foods besides dehusking rice, whereas some roughly made slabs no longer had a grinding function and were used only for pounding some specific plant foods. The functional degeneration of grinding slabs coincides with the rise of farming in Neolithic China around 7,000 BP. This study provides new evidence for understanding the evolution of prehistoric human plant food processing tools in Neolithic Eastern China.
This study presents the results of a preliminary investigation on micro-botanical remains preserv... more This study presents the results of a preliminary investigation on micro-botanical remains preserved on Tolai hare (Lepus tolai) teeth recovered from Yangjiesha, a site located on the north of the Loess Plateau in China, dated circa. 4900B.P. The microscopic analysis reveal that starch grains from Triticeae, millets and their wild relatives as well as wood tissue fragments were identified in dental residues This implies that, in the context of the intensive development of millet farming at about 5000B.P., hares at Yangjiesha may have been active inside or near the agricultural settlement areas and formed long-term interactions with humans against the new agricultural ecology of the north Loess Plateau.
The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynas... more The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynasty in China. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a ditch containing approximately one hundred unusual dead human skulls in the rammed-earth foundations of the palace area. The identity and origin of the skulls have long been disputed. In this work, strontium, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were carried out on 11 human skulls and 1 tooth from the ditch, as well as on 11 human bones, 11 human teeth from the ordinary tombs and 10 pig teeth from the Zhengzhou Shang City site. We determined that, in Zhengzhou Shang City, the local strontium isotope ratio ranges from 0.711606 to 0.711884, and ordinary inhabitants consumed mainly C4 plants supplemented by C3 plants. Moreover, humans buried in the ditch have 87Sr/86Sr values from 0.711335 to 0.711741 and consumed only C4 plants. Combining the isotopic data with the archaeological and cultural context, it is concluded that the ...
Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replace... more Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replaced millet as the primary crop in the core regions of early Imperial China. Previous studies have suggested that wheat cultivation likely became widespread prior to or during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). Here, we tested this hypothesis by applying archeobotanical tools to plant remains found in five pottery model granaries (cang) entombed in a newly excavated late Western Han burial at the Longzaocun cemetery in the Guanzhong Basin. This analysis allowed us to explore the extent of wheat expansion and agricultural strategies in the heartland of early dynastic China. Macro- and micro-botanical evidence shows that the Longzaocun residents consumed two kinds of crops: foxtail and common millet. Combining these findings with previous studies, we argue that millet-based multi-crop farming dominated the regional agricultural system during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 8) and analyze the political and cultural motivations for the Han people’s usage on millet crops from the burial concepts and fiscal systems. Echoing previous studies, we argue that millets remained the most valuable subsistence food for inhabitants of the Loess Basins in the Han core, and that wheat was not cultivated on a large scale in this area during the Western Han Dynasty.
Recent studies have provided evidence of alcohol production and consumption in 16 sites in northe... more Recent studies have provided evidence of alcohol production and consumption in 16 sites in northern China during the Neolithic period, focusing on the Yangshao Culture (ca. 7,000-5,000 cal. BP). Yet, the comparison of similarities and differences in brewing technology and drinking patterns within the Yangshao Culture still needs more supporting information from case studies in different regions. In this paper, 17 pottery samples excavated from the Yangshao Culture site of Qingtai (ca. 5,500-4,750 cal. BP) in the central part of Henan Province were analyzed for microfossils (starch grains, phytoliths, fungi) and organic acids, on the basis of the theoretical model constructed from our simulation experiments. The results revealed a mixed filtered alcoholic beverage, likely to be fermented by fruit and/or honey. The ingredients were mainly foxtail millet, rice, Job's tears, Triticeae, snake gourd roots, lotus roots, legumes, nuts, fruits, and/or honey. What's more, we found that the jiandiping amphora from Qingtai was not likely used for brewing or drinking. In terms of prehistoric drinking habits, in the large-scale settlement of the late Yangshao Culture in China, it is possible that people drank filtered alcohol alone or that a few people drank filtered alcohol poured from the painted bottle, indicating a switch from communal drinking to individual drinking. This study sheds light on the similarities and differences in brewing techniques, fermentation ingredients, and drinking patterns among different regions of the late Neolithic Yangshao Culture, and deepens our understanding of alcoholic beverages in the early Chinese civilized societies.
Two different types of grinding stones, grinding slabs and rollers, as well as mortars and pestle... more Two different types of grinding stones, grinding slabs and rollers, as well as mortars and pestles from the Shuangdun site (ca. 7.3–6.8 ka BP) in the middle Huai River region, were subjected to starch grain analysis to investigate the evolution of plant food processing tools during the transition period from a gathering–fishing–hunting economy to farming. The results suggest that both types of grinding stones were used to process various plant species, including Triticeae, Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), and bean (Vigna spp.). However, starch grains of rice (Oryza sativa) were only discovered from mortar and pestle tools, indicating that mortars and pestles might have become a fixed combination tool for rice processing. Damage characteristics analysis for different kinds of starches indicated that mortars and pestles were also used for grinding plant foods besides dehusking rice, whereas some roughly made slabs no longer had a grinding function and were used only for pounding some specific plant foods. The functional degeneration of grinding slabs coincides with the rise of farming in Neolithic China around 7,000 BP. This study provides new evidence for understanding the evolution of prehistoric human plant food processing tools in Neolithic Eastern China.
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