A comprehensive dataset of key domesticated faunal remains from China spanning the early Neolithic to the Han Dynasty

Tracing royal consumption and socio-symbolism through faunal remains: Zooarchaeology of Iron Age–Urartu Ayanis citadel, Eastern Turkiye

Human diets during the social transition from territorial states to empire: Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from 770 BCE to 220 CE on the Central Plains of China

Agropastoralism has prevailed in Inner Asia since the Bronze Age. It is an optimal subsistence strategy of inhabitants for adaptation to arid marginal environment. However, previous studies paid little attention to different development trajectories of this mixed economy within similar habitat. The Turpan and Hami Basins, located in eastern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, are two typical desert oases with extremely dry climate, providing us with an appropriate region to investigate the issue. In present study, radiocarbon dates ( n = 154) of eight typical sites in these two basins were reviewed and used to reconstruct the prehistoric chronology sequence prior to Han Dynasty (2200 cal BP). Then the data of botanical and faunal remains and stable isotope analyses ( n = 159) of human diets from these sites were also reviewed for reliably revealing the subsistence economy pattern. Combining the time scale with multiple biological proxies, results show that, from the Bronze Age to early Iron Age, inhabitant subsistence in the Turpan Basin was dominated by livestock herding and supplemented by low-investment cereal crop cultivation, while the agriculture in Turpan Basin has developed significantly by the later period of Subeixi Culture. In contrast, agriculture-based economy was continuously developed in the Hami oases. Although the climate is very dry in both basins, temperature in warm seasons is much higher in the Turpan Basin. Besides thermal condition, size, range and convenient availability of highland pasture located at the southern flank of the Tianshan Mountains, are main driving factors leading to differentiated development trajectories of agropastoralism. Apart from that, cultural factors like economy, culture and technology communication along with population migration also impact local subsistence economy pattern.

ABSTRACTDietary analysis using δ15N values of human remains such as bone and hair is usually based on general principles and limited data sets. Even for modern humans, the direct ascertainment of dietary δ15N is difficult and laborious, due to the complexity of metabolism and nitrogen fractionation, differing dietary habits and variation of δ15N values of food items. The objective of this study was to summarize contemporary regional experimental and global literature data to ascertain mean representative δ15N values for distinct food categories. A comprehensive data set of more than 12,000 analyzed food samples was summarized from the literature. Data originated from studies dealing with (1) authenticity tracing or origin control of food items, and (2) effects of fertilization or nutrition on δ15N values of plants or animals. Regional German food δ15N values revealed no major differences compared with the mean global values derived from the literature. We found that, in contrast to other food categories, historical faunal remains of pig and poultry are significantly enriched in 15N compared to modern samples. This difference may be due to modern industrialized breeding practices. In some food categories variations in agricultural and feeding regimens cause significant differences in δ15N values that may lead to misinterpretations when only limited information is available. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:58–66, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.