西周王朝的牧业经营

Horse Production and Management System of the Western Zhou dynasty

据以《周礼》、《礼记》为代表的文献记载,西周王权体制下,为从事季节性地饲养、管理马匹,设置了多种职掌的官职。可是,其具体状况则未能详尽。因而,对马骨进行科技分析成为关键课题。本论文根据陕西省西安市少陵原西周墓地出土马骨的动物考古学的研究数据,以及牙齿羟基磷灰石碳稳定同位素的分析结果,对随葬马匹的饲料构成的组合分析获得了新认识,也探索了西周王朝马的饲养与管理状况。西周王朝根据马的性别确定不同的饲养管理战略方针。雌马以繁殖后代为目的,出生之后即在厩舍饲养,饲料为粟和黍,使之与甄选出的种马交配。同时,幼马与雌马一起饲养,以母乳以及天然牧场的野草为食物,马3岁以后对C4植物摄取量剧增。这一结果与古代文献记载相吻合,可见为了对3岁以上的马进行使役训练,周人可能将其转移到不同的饲养、管理环境中,这是熟知马的生态特征,按计划进行饲养和管理的措施。如此,依据动物考古学和理化分析相结合的手段,揭示了仅凭古代文献和出土文字资料所无法窥知的西周王朝对马的饲养与管理活动,并表明这些饲养管理活动的开始时期或可追溯至西周前期。

According to historical documents,such as Zhouli(周礼),Liji(礼记),various official positions had been set up to seasonally raise and manage horses under the government of the Western Zhou dynasty.However,the details of horse management were not recorded.Thus,it is critical to understand their practice of raising horses by analysis applied scientific and technological methods in Archaeology.In this paper,zooarchaeological data on 10 sacrificed horses from the Shaolingyuan Western Zhou cemetery,Xian,Shanxi province,and the results from stable carbon isotope analysis of enamel apatite of the 6 horses,contribute to our new understandings of horse feed composition,feeding and management status of the Westerm Zhou dynasty.It was concluded that different feeding and management strategies were applied based on the specific gender of horses.The females are for the purpose of breeding offspring and matching with stallions,so they were kept within stables feeding mainly on millets.Meanwhile,colts were raised with their mothers together,feed by milk and grass from natural pasture,but the C4 plant intake had increased sharply after 3 years old.This result is consistent with ancient literature records,showing that in order to train horses over 3 years old,Zhou people may transfer them to different breeding and management environment,which reflected that they were familiar with the ecological characteristics of horses and their planned managements on horse raising.In this case,based on the combination of zooarchaeological and chemical analysis,it reveals horse breeding and management activities of the Western Zhou Dynasty that are unknown only from ancient documents or unearthed text materials,and shows that these activities could date back to the early Westerm Zhou Dynasty.