Direct dating of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in northwestern China reveals the history of pastoralism in the Gansu-Qinghai region

Abstract

Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of these livestock in China is controversial. The Hexi Corridor, located in the northwestern Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region of northwest China, was a conduit of cultural exchange between East and West Eurasia. Based on the identification and radiocarbon dating of animal remains unearthed from two Xichengyi culture sites in the Hexi Corridor (Huoshiliang (火石梁) and Ganggangwa (缸缸洼), ranging from 4060 cal BP to 3650 cal BP), combined with other archaeological data published from the GQ region, this study aims to reveal the history of pastoralism and the timing for the emergence of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in the GQ region. Our results suggest that directly dated domestic sheep/goat bones (4060-3840 cal BP) and cattle bones (3970-3830 cal BP) unearthed from these two sites are the earliest yet reported for sites within GQ region, but are significantly later than those reported elsewhere in the temperate-grassland areas of northern China. Furthermore, the unearthed animal remains suggest that early pastoralism in the GQ region occurred at the beginning of the Qijia/Xichengyi culture period (∼4000 cal BP), significantly later than other previously reported evidence for the substantial increase of sedimental coprophilous fungal spores in this region since∼5600 cal BP. We argue that previously reported evidence for increased coprophilous fungal spores in the GQ region before 4000 cal BP may come from raising domestic pigs and/or wild animals rather than domestic cattle and sheep/goats, and should not be taken as evidence for the intensification of pastoralism of cattle and sheep/goats.