Sustainable Hunting Strategy of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) in the Neolithic Lower Yangtze River Region, China

Guoping Sun,Yunping Huang,Ying Zhang,Xiaoyan Yang,Hiroki Kikuchi,Yonglei Wang

doi:10.3389/feart.2021.812910

Abstract

Zooarchaeology studies the human-animal interactions over long periods, and can be used to evaluate the sustainable exploitation of animal resources. Sika deer (Cervus nippon), a National Class Ⅰ protected wild animal species of China, used to be commonly found at Neolithic sites across China. In the Yangtze River region, although the Neolithic faunal assemblages show diversity in deer species, sika deer has always been one of the most important components. This research aims at discussing the exploitation of the environmental resources via the hunting strategy of sika deer at Tianluoshan, a Neolithic site in the lower Yangtze River region. The cull pattern and sex ratio of sika deer are reconstructed to display the pattern of prey selection. The results show a specific pattern targeting larger individuals including adults and juveniles, and targeting male over female. This pattern is able to maximize the yield, and keep the deer population sustainable. The sustainable hunting of sika deer probably is why the Tianluoshan site lasted for nearly a thousand years, during which sika deer had been a major prey for meat.

Highlights

Zooarchaeology investigates the human-animal interactions over centuries and millennia, and provides irreplaceable tools for evaluating long-term sustainable use of natural resources (Butler and Delacorte, 2004; Frazier, 2007; Lyman, 1996; Wolverton and Lyman, 2012)
The teeth of sika deer older than 8 years old are heavily worn, the death age cannot be estimated accurately
Sex ratio, and seasonality analysis above, we can draw an image of the sika deer hunting strategy practiced at Tianluoshan 7,000–6,000 years ago

Summary

Introduction

Zooarchaeology investigates the human-animal interactions over centuries and millennia, and provides irreplaceable tools for evaluating long-term sustainable use of natural resources (Butler and Delacorte, 2004; Frazier, 2007; Lyman, 1996; Wolverton and Lyman, 2012). In the long history of hunting, the unsustainable exploitation, together with other natural and anthropogenic factors, has caused the decline and extinction of many animal species, and this situation is getting more and more serious (Davis, 1987; Boivin et al, 2016; Frazier, 2007). Capable of modifying the ecosystem, the exploitation was managed to a sustainable level, represented by the settlements which were inhabited for hundreds or thousands of years. The fact is zooarchaeology has helped to reintroduce the extirpated populations of Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) in China, and relocate the conservation parks to the Huai River and Yangtze River region which were their original habitat (Cao, 2005)

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