Stable isotopic analysis on sus bones from the Wanfabozi site, Tonghua, Jilin

Abstract

In order to study the sus diets and explore the possibility to distinguish domestic pig from wild boar through dietary analysis, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of 28 pig bones from archaeological site of Wanfabozi in Tonghua City, Jilin Province were analyzed. The δ 13C and δ 15N values of uncontaminated bones show that the overall pigs in the site were generally herbivores and ate mainly C3 plants. Significant difference of δ15N values was observed between wild boar and domestic pigs, which may result from the higher consumption of animal protein in domestic pigs other than from that in wild boar, possibly from human leftover or waste,. The dietary difference between wild boar and domestic pigs has great potential to differentiate wild boar and domestic pigs in the early stage of pig domestication.