A Pilot Study of Trophic Level and Human Origins at the Xiaoshuangqiao Site, China (ca. 1400 BC) Using δD Values of Collagen
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This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41603009), MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (No. 16YJCZH100), Origin of Chinese Civilisation and Mount Songshan Civilisation Zhengzhou Research Association (No. Q2015-1) and Humanities and Social Science Research Foundation of Jiangsu Normal University (No. 15XWR025).

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    Abstract:

    We present here a pilot study to examine trophic level effects and migration patterns at the middle Shang Dynasty site of Xiaoshuangqiao in Henan Province using δD results combined with δ13C and δ15N values. A total of 33 specimens (17 humans, 7 cattle, 5 pigs, 3 sheep, 1 dog) of bone collagen were isotopically analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, and dD values. A strong positive correlation (R2 = 0.94) between mean δ15N and δD values of herbivores (cattle and sheep), omnivores (pig), carnivores (dog) and humans was observed. The δD results were found to increase by ~10‰ to 20‰ from herbivores to omnivores to carnivorous, evidence that collagen δD results are a useful indicator for the study of trophic levels and dietary patterns at archaeological sites. The δD results were also used to examine the origins of two different groups of individuals buried at Xiaoshuangqiao. Individuals buried in sacrificial pits of district V had mean δD values (?47.0 ± 2.9‰, n = 11) that were significantly (p = 0.049) elevated compared to the people buried in the stratigraphy of district IX (?51.3 ± 3.3‰, n = 3), indicating that they were ingesting water from different locations. In addition, the D values of the people buried in the stratigraphy were similar to the pigs (?54.5 ± 4.2‰, n = 5) at Xiaoshuangqiao, suggesting that they were most probably of the local population, and that the individuals buried in the sacrificial pits were most possibly from the coast and prisoners of the Dongyi (“东夷”) people. Thus, δD results have the potential to examine human origins and migration patterns and should be increasingly used in conjunction with δ13C and δ15N values at archaeological sites.

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WANG Ning, LI Suting, HU Yaowu, SONG Guoding.2017. A Pilot Study of Trophic Level and Human Origins at the Xiaoshuangqiao Site, China (ca. 1400 BC) Using δD Values of Collagen[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica(),91(5):1884-1892

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History
  • Received:February 15,2015
  • Revised:August 10,2015
  • Adopted:
  • Online: October 23,2017
  • Published: