The upper-middle Huai River valley(HRV) is located in the transition zone in the middle of eastern China. Previous studies have shown that the past populations in the upper HRV obtained plant food through gathering an...The upper-middle Huai River valley(HRV) is located in the transition zone in the middle of eastern China. Previous studies have shown that the past populations in the upper HRV obtained plant food through gathering and cultivation of both rice and millet during the middle Neolithic. However, for the middle HRV it is not very clear what methods were used by humans to obtain plant food in that time. In this paper, starch grain analysis was carried out on 17 stone tools and 29 cauldron pottery sherds unearthed at Shunshanji(8.5–7.0 kyr BP), which is known as the earliest Neolithic site in the middle HRV excavated so far. Here, ancient starches from Coix lacryma-jobi, Triticeae, Oryza sativa, Trichosanthes kirilowii and one unidentified specie were recovered. This study contributes to the limited knowledge of food strategies as observed in the middle HRV. It demonstrates that both gathering and cultivation of rice took place during the middle-Neolithic. Among the identified species, Coix lacryma-jobi appears to have been the main plant food at Shunshanji. Moreover, it is clear that Oryza sativa was not consumed as much as other plant species according to the occurrence frequency of different starch grains. Starch grains were also found on the used surfaces of grinding stone implements as well as pestles, which means that these stone tools were used for food processing. In addition, axes from Shunshanji may also have been used for food processing as well as wood working because starches were also found on the edge of axes. Information about subsistence strategies and tool use at Shunshanji will also be helpful to understanding the utilization of plants and agricultural development in the middle HRV during the early-middle Neolithic period.展开更多
The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the tooth enamel of mammals,including deer,wild pigs,buffaloes and domesticated pigs from the Shunshanji site,Sihong County,Jiangsu Province,China,were analyzed to recons...The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the tooth enamel of mammals,including deer,wild pigs,buffaloes and domesticated pigs from the Shunshanji site,Sihong County,Jiangsu Province,China,were analyzed to reconstruct the mammals’ecoenvironments and diets,and to evaluate seasonal variations in the study area.Carbon isotopic compositions of buck samples revealed that the deer ate completely C3 plants and the environments they inhabited were relatively open and that wild pigs ate primarily C3 plants.Oxygen isotopic compositions indicated that the body sources of these two mammals were different,i.e.the deer and pigs lived in different niches within a relatively similar ecosystem.Modern domesticated pigs were isotopically more positive than the ancient wild pigs in carbon 13C values,suggesting the former ingested more C3 plants relative to the latter.Although the 18O data showed modern domesticated and ancient pigs had similar oxygen isotope compositions,their water sources were different.The carbon and oxygen isotopic patterns of premolar microsamples of ancient and modern buffaloes indicated that the plants ingested by the ancient buffalo varied with seasonal shifts,but plants ingested by the modern buffalo were relatively constant.The eco-environment of the modern buffalo was more open,warmer and drier than eco-environment of the ancient buffalo,which may be the result of the deforestation and other human activities.Ancient and modern seasonal changes were clearly recorded in the isotopic patterns and the seasonal variation amplitudes of the ancient and modern eco-environments were similar.展开更多
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA05130503)the Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project of the Ministry of Education (Grant No. 15YJA780003)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41472148, 41502164)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 201321101)
文摘The upper-middle Huai River valley(HRV) is located in the transition zone in the middle of eastern China. Previous studies have shown that the past populations in the upper HRV obtained plant food through gathering and cultivation of both rice and millet during the middle Neolithic. However, for the middle HRV it is not very clear what methods were used by humans to obtain plant food in that time. In this paper, starch grain analysis was carried out on 17 stone tools and 29 cauldron pottery sherds unearthed at Shunshanji(8.5–7.0 kyr BP), which is known as the earliest Neolithic site in the middle HRV excavated so far. Here, ancient starches from Coix lacryma-jobi, Triticeae, Oryza sativa, Trichosanthes kirilowii and one unidentified specie were recovered. This study contributes to the limited knowledge of food strategies as observed in the middle HRV. It demonstrates that both gathering and cultivation of rice took place during the middle-Neolithic. Among the identified species, Coix lacryma-jobi appears to have been the main plant food at Shunshanji. Moreover, it is clear that Oryza sativa was not consumed as much as other plant species according to the occurrence frequency of different starch grains. Starch grains were also found on the used surfaces of grinding stone implements as well as pestles, which means that these stone tools were used for food processing. In addition, axes from Shunshanji may also have been used for food processing as well as wood working because starches were also found on the edge of axes. Information about subsistence strategies and tool use at Shunshanji will also be helpful to understanding the utilization of plants and agricultural development in the middle HRV during the early-middle Neolithic period.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40971115 and 411711163)the University Doctoral Foundation(20090091110036)+2 种基金the Test Foundation of Modern Analyses Center of Nanjing University(0209001309)the Foundation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China(2010BAK67B02)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2010048113)
文摘The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the tooth enamel of mammals,including deer,wild pigs,buffaloes and domesticated pigs from the Shunshanji site,Sihong County,Jiangsu Province,China,were analyzed to reconstruct the mammals’ecoenvironments and diets,and to evaluate seasonal variations in the study area.Carbon isotopic compositions of buck samples revealed that the deer ate completely C3 plants and the environments they inhabited were relatively open and that wild pigs ate primarily C3 plants.Oxygen isotopic compositions indicated that the body sources of these two mammals were different,i.e.the deer and pigs lived in different niches within a relatively similar ecosystem.Modern domesticated pigs were isotopically more positive than the ancient wild pigs in carbon 13C values,suggesting the former ingested more C3 plants relative to the latter.Although the 18O data showed modern domesticated and ancient pigs had similar oxygen isotope compositions,their water sources were different.The carbon and oxygen isotopic patterns of premolar microsamples of ancient and modern buffaloes indicated that the plants ingested by the ancient buffalo varied with seasonal shifts,but plants ingested by the modern buffalo were relatively constant.The eco-environment of the modern buffalo was more open,warmer and drier than eco-environment of the ancient buffalo,which may be the result of the deforestation and other human activities.Ancient and modern seasonal changes were clearly recorded in the isotopic patterns and the seasonal variation amplitudes of the ancient and modern eco-environments were similar.
