黄河流域先秦时期以养羊业为中心的生业经济初探

A Preliminary Study of the Raising Sheep-Centered Subsistence Economy in the Yellow River Basin During the Pre Qin Period

驯化于西亚地区的家养绵羊和家养山羊目前在中国境内最早被发现于新石器时代晚期至末期的甘青以及陕北地区,随后家羊在黄河流域不同区域的生业经济和社会发展中发挥了重要作用。距今4000年前后的降温事件与草原的扩张为家羊的东渐提供了便利条件,羊的饲养与利用与甘青等黄河上游地区草原畜牧经济的萌芽与发展有着密切联系。在粟作农业最为发达的黄河中游地区,家羊的利用推动了区域家畜饲养业的繁荣和社会经济的发展,羊的饲养与当地粟作农业之间的联结也逐渐增强。而在地势平坦、河湖众多、草地资源相对较少的黄河下游地区,家羊出现的时间相对较晚,养羊业呈现小规模、缓慢发展的状态。家羊和养羊业的研究有助于我们以不同的视角认识和理解黄河流域先秦时期各区域的农业生产、家畜饲养策略等相关问题。

Domestic sheep/goat, originally domesticated and exploited by humans in western Asia, were discovered in the Gansu-Qinghai and Northern Shaanxi region in China at about 5000-4000aBP and subsequently played a significant role in the economic and social development of different regions along the Yellow River basin. The expansion of the Eurasian steppe as a result of the cold event around 4000BP encouraged the spread of domestic sheep and goat. Sheep and goat raising and their utilization were strongly tied to the sprouting and development of livestock husbandry in areas of Upper Yellow River such as Gansu-Qinghai region.Domestic sheep/goat have contributed to the success of regional livestock breeding and socioeconomic growth in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, where millet farming was most advanced, and the link between sheep/goat breeding and local crop farming has gradually strengthened. As for the downstream areas with flat terrain and abundant rivers and lakes, domestic sheep and goat appeared comparatively late and sheep/goat raising exhibited a limited scale and progressed slowly due to insufficient pasture resources. From a zooarchaeological standpoint, the study on the domestication of sheep/goats and grassland livestock husbandry help us to understand agricultural production, livestock rearing practices, and other issues associated to ancient societal subsistence in the Yellow River basin during the pre-Qin period.