Application of the Morphometric Method to Chinese Archaeological Samples for Cattle Traction

Abstract

AbstractSimilar to the PIr, the method of morphometrics has been well established by controlled cattle groups. In this chapter, the morphometrics is employed to Chinese archaeological samples for investigating cattle traction practice in ancient China. This also serves as another means of double-checking results produced by the previous PIr method. Both the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological samples are included for morphometric analysis, but the Bronze Age is the emphasis as most of the samples are affiliated with this period. Cattle withers height analyses are conducted, to shed some light on the body size comparison among diverse cattle groups. Cattle traction practice in the Bronze Age has been suggested by the morphometric models of cattle metapodials. This is consistent with the PIr results, confirming the early history of cattle traction in ancient China.KeywordsCattle tractionChinaMorphometricsLate NeolithicBronze Age