New evidence for regional pastoral practice and social complexity in the Eastern Tianshan Mountains in the first millennium BCE.

Mobile pastoralism was a key lifeway in the Late Bronze and Iron Age of Northwest China and played a crucial role in the regional socio-cultural development, as well as the formation of transregional networks. In this paper we analyse the complete faunal assemblage from House F2 in Shirenzigou, on the Eastern Tianshan Mountains, in combination with radiocarbon dating and spatial analysis, to explore local animal resources exploitation strategies and related socio-economic implications. Our results show an intensive multipurpose caprine management, while the exploitation of other domestic taxa, cattle, horses and dogs, was limited. This pastoral economy was supplemented with some hunting. The differentiated use of space in F2 indicates that basic domestic tasks were carried out in the structure, however its position within the landscape and the predominance of bone tools related to warfare and socialization activities, suggests that it was not an ordinary dwelling, it may also have served as a watch post for the summer encampment within the gully. Our findings constitute an important contribution on the discussion on animal resources exploitation strategies and their relationship with evolving socio-economic complexity in the Eastern Tianshan region in the late first millennium BCE.

Evolution of prehistoric dryland agriculture in the arid and semi-arid transition zone in northern China.

Based on chronological and archaeobotanical studies of 15 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites from the northern Chinese Loess Plateau and southern Inner Mongolia-the agro-pastoral zone of China-we document changes in the agricultural system over time. The results show that wheat and rice were not the major crops of the ancient agricultural systems in these areas, since their remains are rarely recovered, and that millet cultivation was dominant. Millet agriculture increased substantially from 3000 BC-2000 BC, and foxtail millet evidently comprised a high proportion of the cultivated crop plants during this period. In addition, as the human population increased from the Yangshao to the Longshan periods, the length and width of common millet seeds increased by 20-30%. This demonstrates the co-evolution of both plants and the human population in the region. Overall, our results reveal a complex agricultural-gardening system based on the cultivation of common millet, foxtail millet, soybeans and fruit trees, indicating a high food diversity and selectivity of the human population.

Tracing the locality of prisoners and workers at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang: First Emperor of China (259-210 BC).

The mausoleum complex of the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), is one of the most famous and important archaeological sites in China, yet questions remain as to how it was constructed and by whom. Here we present isotopic results of individuals from the Liyi (n = 146) and Shanren sites (n = 14), both associated with the mausoleum complex. Those buried at Liyi represent the local workers/inhabitants of the Qin population, and the δ(13)C (-8.7 ± 1.5%) and δ(15)N (10.3 ± 0.7%) values indicate that they consumed predominately millet and/or domestic animals fed millet. In contrast, the Shanren individuals were prisoners forced to construct the mausoleum (found buried haphazardly in a mass grave and some in iron leg shackles), and their δ(13)C (-15.4 ± 2.9%) and δ(15)N (8.0 ± 0.6%) results indicate a more mixed C3/C4 diet, with possibly less domestic animals and more wild game protein consumed. This pattern of decreased millet consumption is also characteristic of archaeological sites from southern China, and possible evidence the Shanren prisoners originated from this region (possibly the ancient Chu state located in modern day Hubei Province and parts of Hunan and Anhui Provinces). Further, this finding is in agreement with historical sources and is supported by previous ancient DNA evidence that the mausoleum workers had diverse origins, with many genetically related to southern Chinese groups.

Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication.

Domestic cats are one of the most popular pets globally, but the process of their domestication is not well understood. Near Eastern wildcats are thought to have been attracted to food sources in early agricultural settlements, following a commensal pathway to domestication. Early evidence for close human-cat relationships comes from a wildcat interred near a human on Cyprus ca. 9,500 y ago, but the earliest domestic cats are known only from Egyptian art dating to 4,000 y ago. Evidence is lacking from the key period of cat domestication 9,500-4,000 y ago. We report on the presence of cats directly dated between 5560-5280 cal B.P. in the early agricultural village of Quanhucun in Shaanxi, China. These cats were outside the wild range of Near Eastern wildcats and biometrically smaller, but within the size-range of domestic cats. The δ(13)C and δ(15)N values of human and animal bone collagen revealed substantial consumption of millet-based foods by humans, rodents, and cats. Ceramic storage containers designed to exclude rodents indicated a threat to stored grain in Yangshao villages. Taken together, isotopic and archaeological data demonstrate that cats were advantageous for ancient farmers. Isotopic data also show that one cat ate less meat and consumed more millet-based foods than expected, indicating that it scavenged among or was fed by people. This study offers fresh perspectives on cat domestication, providing the earliest known evidence for commensal relationships between people and cats.