As the crossroads of prehistoric cultures,the Beijing region is an important area for studying the exchange of prehistoric culture and the spread of millet agriculture.Although millet remains have been found in the Do...As the crossroads of prehistoric cultures,the Beijing region is an important area for studying the exchange of prehistoric culture and the spread of millet agriculture.Although millet remains have been found in the Donghulin site during the Early Neolithic Age,there is little millet remains during the Middle and Late Neolithic Age,so there is a gap of approximately2,000 years since the time of the Donghulin site.The Shangzhai site is located in the Pinggu Basin in eastern Beijing,and it has a large time span with sequential strata;however,there are few large animals and plant remains found at this site,thus the subsistence strategy of ancient people remains unclear.In this study,the absorbed lipids of pottery sherds unearthed in the Neolithic cultural layer of the Shangzhai site were extracted and analysed.The results show that these potteries were used to process millet,the meat of terrestrial non-ruminants and wild ruminants,and dairy of wild ruminants,providing new insights for the subsistence strategy and the development of millet agriculture in the Middle and Late Neolithic Age of Beijing.In addition,the food processing in pottery may be an internal heating method,such as stone boiling.展开更多
Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundst...Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundstone tools are indicators of an agrarian economy. This study employed starch grain analysis to examine a slab and a muller excavated from the Shangzhai Site (7500-7000 cal a BP), Beijing. Identifiable starch grains recovered from the stone tools were classified into 9 genera and 12 species, most of which were from acorns and foxtail millets. Remains from the oak species Q. mongolicus, Q. acuttssima, and Q. dentate were identified as well as a few starch grains from broomcorn (Panicum miliaseum) and bean (Vigna sp.). Other starch grains were from unidentifiable roots and grasses. A variety of starch grains indicates that the grinding stone tools were used to process not only cereals, but also other seeds or roots that had to be ground or husked, thus bringing into question the aforementioned cereal hypothesis. Because the numbers of starch grains from nuts and millets were so large, both gathering and cultivation might have been important economic patterns before 7000 years ago in Beijing area. Moreover, the starch remains are derived from plants that indicate that the paleoclimate of Beijing was wetter and warmer than today’s.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42072217)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities。
文摘As the crossroads of prehistoric cultures,the Beijing region is an important area for studying the exchange of prehistoric culture and the spread of millet agriculture.Although millet remains have been found in the Donghulin site during the Early Neolithic Age,there is little millet remains during the Middle and Late Neolithic Age,so there is a gap of approximately2,000 years since the time of the Donghulin site.The Shangzhai site is located in the Pinggu Basin in eastern Beijing,and it has a large time span with sequential strata;however,there are few large animals and plant remains found at this site,thus the subsistence strategy of ancient people remains unclear.In this study,the absorbed lipids of pottery sherds unearthed in the Neolithic cultural layer of the Shangzhai site were extracted and analysed.The results show that these potteries were used to process millet,the meat of terrestrial non-ruminants and wild ruminants,and dairy of wild ruminants,providing new insights for the subsistence strategy and the development of millet agriculture in the Middle and Late Neolithic Age of Beijing.In addition,the food processing in pottery may be an internal heating method,such as stone boiling.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40771205)National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 40625002)Knowledge Innovation Project from Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZC2-YW-315-5)
文摘Prehistoric groundstone tools including slabs (metate, mo-pan) and mullers (mano, mo-bang) are often considered to be tools that were used to process cereals in ancient China. Most archaeologists believe that groundstone tools are indicators of an agrarian economy. This study employed starch grain analysis to examine a slab and a muller excavated from the Shangzhai Site (7500-7000 cal a BP), Beijing. Identifiable starch grains recovered from the stone tools were classified into 9 genera and 12 species, most of which were from acorns and foxtail millets. Remains from the oak species Q. mongolicus, Q. acuttssima, and Q. dentate were identified as well as a few starch grains from broomcorn (Panicum miliaseum) and bean (Vigna sp.). Other starch grains were from unidentifiable roots and grasses. A variety of starch grains indicates that the grinding stone tools were used to process not only cereals, but also other seeds or roots that had to be ground or husked, thus bringing into question the aforementioned cereal hypothesis. Because the numbers of starch grains from nuts and millets were so large, both gathering and cultivation might have been important economic patterns before 7000 years ago in Beijing area. Moreover, the starch remains are derived from plants that indicate that the paleoclimate of Beijing was wetter and warmer than today’s.
