Investigating dietary patterns and human mobility in bone apatite at the Zhuangqiaofen site (5000-3700 BP), Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract

The Taihu Lake basin is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization with abundant archaeological sites, but the humid and acidic soil conditions of this part of China limit the application of studies using stable isotope ratios of bone collagen. To circumvent this problem, we explore the suitability of using bone hydroxyapatite for stable isotope ratio measurements of carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) as a substitute to collagen in order to obtain dietary and mobility information about humans (n = 22) and animals (n = 7) from the Neolithic site of Zhuangqiaofen. The human δ13C values range from −14.0‰ to −11.5‰ and have an average of −12.8 ± 0.7‰ which indicates that they were mainly consuming a C3 diet, most likely rice (Oryza sativa). The range of δ13C values of the dogs (−13.6‰ to −12.5‰; n = 5) and pigs (−13.9‰ and −12.7‰; n = 2) are similar to the humans and also suggest that they consumed C3 foods. Humans have a wide range of δ18O values (−12.7‰ to −8.5‰) with an average value of −10.8 ± 1.2‰, which suggests that they were mobile and ingested water from a variety of different sources. This human mobility might be attributed to: the need for labor to construct public works at larger sites in the area, trade networks involving jade and pottery in the Jianghuai region or to the unique funerary customs of the Liangzhu Culture that were based on blood relationships. In contrast, the dog δ18O values have a much smaller range (−12.0‰ to −11.4‰) and have an average value of −11.7 ± 0.2‰. The δ18O values of the two pigs are nearly identical at −12.1‰ and −12.2‰ and similar to the dogs, and these results can be used as an isotopic baseline with which to compare the human δ18O results.