RESUMEN
Post-mortem fetal extrusion, also known as "coffin birth", refers to the phenomenon where a fetus is pushed out of a deceased female due to pressure from decomposing gas in the abdominal cavity. While post-mortem fetal extrusion has been documented in humans at several archaeological sites, there are few reports of it occurring in non-human animals. In this study, we present a case of post-mortem fetal extrusion in equids observed in a chariot-horse pit (CMK2) at the Western Zhou period site of Yaoheyuan in northwestern China, dating to the early first millennium BC. This specific pit, one of four excavated at the site, contained at least 29 horses and 3 wooden chariots. Most of these horses were young adults aged between 4 and 12 years. Out of the 22 horses with sex estimates, 21 were males. Among these individuals, one adult female horse (Horse 6) and one infantile horse (Horse 10) were of particular importance. Based on the age-at-death, sex, and head orientation of the two individuals, alongside their spatial relationships, it is highly likely that Horse 6 was the fetus of Horse 10 and was extruded in the pit. According to the parturition stage of Horse 10, Horse 6 was likely interred in CMK2 in late spring or early summer of the year, during which the relatively high temperature may have generated gas that led to the extrusion of the fetus. Although the specific reason for the inclusion of a pregnant mare in a chariot-horse pit at Yaoheyuan remains a topic for future research, this case marks the first report of post-mortem fetal extrusion in archaeological horses. The findings offer insights into the timing of horse interment as part of ritual practices among the settled elites during the Bronze Age in China and provide valuable reference data for contemporary equine veterinary science.
RESUMEN
The first millennium BC saw the expansion of the Western Zhou dynasty in its northwestern frontier, alongside the rise and development of the Qin State in the Longshan Mountain region of northern China. Exploring the subsistence practices of these communities is crucial to gaining a better understanding of the social, cultural, and political landscape in this region at the time. While much of the research to date has focused on the Qin people, the subsistence practices of the Zhou people remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed animal remains from Yucun, a large settlement site associated with the Zhou people, located to the east of the Longshan Mountain. These animal remains were recovered in the excavation seasons of 2018-2020. Our results show that pigs, dogs, cattle, caprines, and horses, which were the major domestic animals at Yucun, accounted for over 90.8% of the animal remains examined in terms of the number of identified specimens (NISP) and 72.8% in terms of the minimum number of individuals (MNI), with cattle and caprines playing dominant roles. In terms of the taxonomic composition and the mortality profiles of pigs, caprines, and cattle, Yucun shared similarities with Maojiaping and Xishan, two contemporaneous Qin cultural sites located to the west of the Longshan Mountain, and differ from other farming societies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River valley. Considering the cultural attributes and topographic conditions of these various sites, these findings imply that environmental conditions may have played a more significant role than cultural factors in shaping the animal-related subsistence practices in northern China during the first millennium BC.
RESUMEN
The late second and first millennium BC witnessed extensive economic, cultural, and political exchanges between pastoralists and sedentary farming states in East Asia. Decades of archaeological fieldwork across northern China have revealed a large number of burial sites associated with pastoralists during the first millennium BC. These sites were characterized by the inhumation of specific animal parts in burials, predominantly the skulls and hooves of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses. However, the selection preference for these animals and how they were integrated into the mortuary contexts of these pastoral societies remain poorly investigated. Here, we report a preliminary analysis of caprine remains from 70 burials at the site of Dunping in the southern Gansu region of northwestern China, dated to approximately the seventh to fourth centuries BC. Based on an examination of species composition, post-depositional effects, traces of human alteration, skeletal element representation, and age at death, we discussed the selection, slaughtering, and inhumation of caprines concerning the mortuary practices at the site. Comparisons between Dunping and several other contemporaneous burial sites in neighboring regions, specifically in terms of the mortality profiles, further highlight distinct patterns in the selection of caprines for mortuary purposes among pastoral societies. These differences suggest varying degrees of emphasis placed on the economic and social significance attributed to caprines. Our findings provide new insights into the roles that caprines played in both ritual performances and subsistence practices among pastoralists in East Asia during the first millennium BC.