2023 by Katherine Brunson
Human Ecology, 2023
Much of the zooarchaeological research on early agricultural societies in North China focuses on ... more Much of the zooarchaeological research on early agricultural societies in North China focuses on long-term processes of animal domestication. The conventional idea of a simple transition from foraging wild species to farming domesticated ones has obscured ecological relationships that lie somewhere between the two. We argue that early farming strategies in North China may have resembled those of agricultural societies in North America where farmers managed landscapes to create deer habitat, which increased deer populations and facilitated hunting. Deer were one of the main sources of food, antlers, and hides for people in China for thousands of years. Shifting agriculture combined with deer hunting was a less intensive use of the landscape than the intensive agriculture that gradually replaced it. As domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats became more common in East Asia beginning around 5000 years ago, people had less need for the meat, bone, and antlers of deer. By the time Chinese historical texts were written, deer were largely confined to royal hunting parks in the densely populated agricultural centers of North China. A similar dynamic later played out in other regions of China.
2022 by Katherine Brunson
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2022
Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of ... more Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of these livestock in China is controversial. The Hexi Corridor, located in the northwestern Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region of northwest China, was a conduit of cultural exchange between East and West Eurasia. Based on the identification and radiocarbon dating of animal remains unearthed from two Xichengyi culture sites in the Hexi Corridor (Huoshiliang (火石梁) and Ganggangwa (缸缸洼), ranging from 4060 cal BP to 3650 cal BP), combined with other archaeological data published from the GQ region, this study aims to reveal the history of pastoralism and the timing for the emergence of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in the GQ region. Our results suggest that directly dated domestic sheep/goat bones (4060-3840 cal BP) and cattle bones (3970-3830 cal BP) unearthed from these two sites are the earliest yet reported for sites within GQ region, but are significantly later than those reported elsewhere in the temperate-grassland areas of northern China. Furthermore, the unearthed animal remains suggest that early pastoralism in the GQ region occurred at the beginning of the Qijia/Xichengyi culture period (~4000 cal BP), significantly later than other previously reported evidence for the substantial increase of sedimental coprophilous fungal spores in this region since~5600 cal BP. We argue that previously reported evidence for increased coprophilous fungal spores in the GQ region before 4000 cal BP may come from raising domestic pigs and/or wild animals rather than domestic cattle and sheep/goats, and should not be taken as evidence for the intensification of pastoralism of cattle and sheep/goats.
Cattle and People: Interdisciplinary Approaches to an Ancient Relationship , 2022
Cattle and People Interdisciplinary Approaches to an Ancient Relationship edited by Elizabeth Wri... more Cattle and People Interdisciplinary Approaches to an Ancient Relationship edited by Elizabeth Wright and Catarina Ginja
2021 by Katherine Brunson
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2022
Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of ... more Cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated in West Asia, but the history of utilization of these livestock in China is controversial. The Hexi Corridor, located in the northwestern Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region of northwest China, was a conduit of cultural exchange between East and West Eurasia. Based on the identification and radiocarbon dating of animal remains unearthed from two Xichengyi culture sites in the Hexi Corridor (Huoshiliang (火石梁) and Ganggangwa (缸缸洼), ranging from 4060 cal BP to 3650 cal BP), combined with other archaeological data published from the GQ region, this study aims to reveal the history of pastoralism and the timing for the emergence of the earliest domesticated cattle and caprines in the GQ region. Our results suggest that directly dated domestic sheep/goat bones (4060-3840 cal BP) and cattle bones (3970-3830 cal BP) unearthed from these two sites are the earliest yet reported for sites within GQ region, but are significantly later than those reported elsewhere in the temperate-grassland areas of northern China. Furthermore, the unearthed animal remains suggest that early pastoralism in the GQ region occurred at the beginning of the Qijia/Xichengyi culture period (~4000 cal BP), significantly later than other previously reported evidence for the substantial increase of sedimental coprophilous fungal spores in this region since~5600 cal BP. We argue that previously reported evidence for increased coprophilous fungal spores in the GQ region before 4000 cal BP may come from raising domestic pigs and/or wild animals rather than domestic cattle and sheep/goats, and should not be taken as evidence for the intensification of pastoralism of cattle and sheep/goats.
Journal of World Prehistory, 2021
The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition to... more The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition toward pastoralism, resulting in part from environmental changes that started around 4000 years ago. To date, there has been little available residential data to document how and whether subsistence strategies and community organization in northwest China changed following or in association with documented environmental changes. The Tao River Archaeology Project is a collaborative effort aimed at gathering robust archaeological information to solidify our baseline understanding of economic, technological, and social practices in the third through early first millennia BC. Here we present data from two Xindian culture residential sites, and propose that rather than a total transition to nomadic pastoralism-as it is often reconstructed-the Xindian culture reflects a prolonged period of complex transition in cultural traditions and subsistence practices. In fact, communities maintained elements of earlier cultivation and animal-foddering systems, selectively incorporating new plants and animals into their repertoire. These locally-specific strategies were employed to negotiate ever-changing environmental and social conditions in the region of developing 'proto-Silk Road' interregional interactions.
Asian Archaeology, 2021
The transition between the Majiayao (5300-4000 BP) and Qijia (4200-3500 BP) "cultures" in what is... more The transition between the Majiayao (5300-4000 BP) and Qijia (4200-3500 BP) "cultures" in what is now northwestern China's Gansu Province has typically been defined by major technological changes in pottery forms, subsistence practices, and site locations. These changes are thought to have been driven by a combination of climate change induced cooling and drying as well as human migration into the region from areas further east. Based on our review of literature on the topic, as well as recent fieldwork in the northern Tao River Valley, we suggest that the picture is significantly more complex, with some new technologies slowly being experimented with, adopted, or rejected, while many other aspects of production and social organization persisted over hundreds of years. We hypothesize that these changes reflect the active agency of the inhabitants of southern Gansu during the fifth and fourth millennia BP balancing long-standing cultural traditions with influxes of new technologies. Unlike some societies in other regions at this time, however, increasing technological specialization does not appear to have resulted in growing social inequality, but the archaeological material instead reflects increasingly complex heterarchical organization.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2021
This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocen... more This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocene, taking continental China as its geographic focus. As China is large, geographically diverse, and exceptionally archaeologically and historically well-documented, research here provides critical insight into the functioning of social-natural systems. Based on a broad review of the field as well as recent advances and discoveries, the authors reflect on research themes including climate change and adaptive systems theory, spatial and temporal scale, anthropogenic environmental change, risk management and resilience, and integration of subdisciplines. These converge on three overarching conclusions. First, datasets relevant to climate change and ancient human-environment interaction must be as local and specific as possible, as the timing of environmental change differs locally, and the human response is highly dependent on local social and technological conditions. Second, the field still needs more robust theoretical frameworks for analyzing complex social-natural systems, and especially for integrating data on multiple scales. Third, for this work to contribute meaningfully to contemporary climate change research, effective communication of research findings to the public and to scientists in other disciplines should be incorporated into publication plans.
2020 by Katherine Brunson
Journal of Asian Studies, 2020
Pigs have played a central role in the subsistence and culture of China for millennia. The
close ... more Pigs have played a central role in the subsistence and culture of China for millennia. The
close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated
wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and
fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to
fatten quickly and produce larger litters. Early modern Europeans found Chinese pigs far
superior to their own and bred the two to create the breeds now employed in industrial
pork production around the world, including China. In recent decades, industrial farms
that scientifically control every aspect of pigs’ lives have spread rapidly. Until recently,
most Chinese people ate pork only on special occasions; their ability in recent decades
to eat it regularly exemplifies China’s increasing prosperity. Meanwhile, vast areas of
North and South American farmland are now devoted to growing soybeans to feed hundreds of millions of pigs in China, and the methane, manure, and antibiotic resistance
they produce creates environmental and health problems on a global scale.
Keywords: pigs, China, animals, agriculture, livestock, food, environment
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
The Gansu-Qinghai region of Northwest China was an important region for cultural exchange and the... more The Gansu-Qinghai region of Northwest China was an important region for cultural exchange and the adoption of new animal domesticates during the fourth through second millennia BCE. This paper summarizes previously published zooarchaeological reports from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Gansu and Qinghai Provinces in order to synthesize the changing uses of domesticated taxa and the timing of the arrivals of new domesticates into northwest China. We present new zooarchaeologial data collected during archaeological investigations by the Tao River Archaeological Project (TRAP) at the sites of Dayatou, Qijiaping, and Huizuiwa. These sites allow us to explore changes in animal use at a local scale of analysis, revealing the increasing importance of caprine pastoralism through time. Our analyses also include the first directly dated sheep and goat bones for the region, with the earliest samples dating to 1900-1750 cal. BCE. We conclude that although there is a suggestion that cattle, sheep, and goats arrived in the Gansu-Qinghai region during the 4th millennium BCE, we do not believe that there is definitive evidence for cattle, sheep, and goats until after about 2500 BCE.
2019 by Katherine Brunson
Trends in Genetics, 2019
Paleogenomics, also known as genome-wide ancient DNA analysis, is transforming our understanding ... more Paleogenomics, also known as genome-wide ancient DNA analysis, is transforming our understanding of the human past, but has been much less intensively used to understand the history of other species. However, paleogenomic studies of non-human animals and plants have the potential to address an equally rich range of evolutionary, paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, and archaeological research questions. Three recent case studies of cave bears, horses, and maize provide examples of the ways that paleogenomics can be used to examine potential causes of extinctions and dynamic processes of
domestication. Much more research in these areas is needed, and we conclude by highlighting key future directions.
SAA Archaeological Record, 2019
Este libro ofrece una visión general de la arqueología de la región oaxaqueña, abordada desde sus... more Este libro ofrece una visión general de la arqueología de la región oaxaqueña, abordada desde sus orígenes, con los científicos del siglo XIX, hasta los estudios mas recientes en la época moderna. Ubicada en el sur de México, esta región mesoamericana ha sido considerada como cuna de civilizaciones debido a su in interrumpido desarrollo cultural, desde la prehistoria hasta nuestros días. El libro se presenta organizado en una manera cronológica, a fin de que el lector pueda comprender el desarrollo de las antiguas culturas que han convivido a lo largo de varios siglos en este agreste territorio. Ofrece una compilación de los conocimientos emanados de los varios proyectos arqueológicos que se han realizado permanentemente en Oaxaca, que han permitido ir construyendo la historia de los grupos humanos asentados desde la etapa lítica hasta la llegada de la conquista europea en las diversas sub-regiones. Muestra también los diversos enfoques de la arqueología mexicana y norteamericana que la han modelado, y que se han complementado de manera a fortunada para hacer de Oaxaca una de las regiones mas estudiadas de Mesoamérica.
2018 by Katherine Brunson
Journal of Chinese History, 2018
Human activity has eliminated many of the natural lowland ecosystems of the Middle and Lower Yell... more Human activity has eliminated many of the natural lowland ecosystems of the Middle and Lower Yellow River Valley, and has modified the rest, making it difficult to understand what species are native to the region. As a step towards the reconstruction of these lost environments, this paper employs zooarchaeological and other evidence to identify the native mammals of the region. We provide basic ecological information about these animals and discuss controversial or difficult cases in more depth. Our goal is not only to study China's environmental history, but also to make clear that conventional understandings of species ranges are based on the distributions of animals in the modern period, when many had already been eliminated from large areas by human activity.
2017 by Katherine Brunson
Archaeological Research in Asia, 2017
We identified and dated 18 occupational events at eight sites dating to ~ 14.7–10.8 kiloannum bef... more We identified and dated 18 occupational events at eight sites dating to ~ 14.7–10.8 kiloannum before present (ka BP) during a decade of archaeological survey and excavation on the northeastern high Tibetan Plateau (TP) > 3200 m. The ephemeral nature of the earliest sites suggests they were created by small foraging groups during very short stays. By ~ 12 ka BP, larger foraging groups began to occupy sites > 4000 m leading to a more intensive occupation of the high TP after ~ 9.5 ka BP. This archaeologically-based chronology closely matches genetically-based Tibetan population histories showing an early growth in population size and initial split with Han populations ~ 15–9 ka BP, and a second spike in population growth during the early-mid Holocene. We found no evidence for occupation of the high TP prior to or during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), suggesting the initial separation of Tibetan and Han populations may have occurred at lower elevations in the TP margins or after the LGM in the high TP.
Keywords
Tibet Upper Paleolithic; High altitude adaptation; Seasonal transhumance; Tibetan genetic history
Asian Perspectives, 2017
This article reviews current evidence for the origins of domestic cattle in China. We describe tw... more This article reviews current evidence for the origins of domestic cattle in China. We describe two possible scenarios: 1) domestic cattle were domesticated indigenously in East Asia from the wild aurochs (Bos primigenius), and 2) domestic cattle were domesticated elsewhere and then introduced to China. We conclude that the current zooarchaeological and genetic evidence does not support indigenous domestication within China, although it is possible that people experimented with managing wild aurochs in ways that did not lead to complete domestication. Most evidence indicates that domestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) were introduced to China during the third millennium b.c., and were related to cattle populations first domesticated in the Near East. Zebu cattle (Bos indicus) entered China sometime between 2000 and 200 b.c., but much less is known about this species. The role of cattle as ritual and wealth animals seems to have been critical to their initial introduction.
PLOS One, 2017
Reconstructing ancient diets and the use of animals and plants augment our understanding of how h... more Reconstructing ancient diets and the use of animals and plants augment our understanding of how humans adapted to different environments. Yunnan Province in southwest China is ecologically and environmentally diverse. During the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, this region was occupied by a variety of local culture groups with diverse subsistence systems and material culture. In this paper, we obtained carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic ratios from human and faunal remains in order to reconstruct human paleodiets and strategies for animal exploitation at the Bronze Age site of Shilinggang (ca. 2500 Cal BP) in northwest Yunnan Province. The δ13C results for human samples from Shilinggang demonstrate that people’s diets were mainly dominated by C3-based foodstuffs, probably due to both direct consumption of C3 food and as a result of C3 foddering of consumed animals. Auxiliary C4 food signals can also be detected. High δ15N values indicate that meat was an important component of the diet. Analysis of faunal samples indicates that people primarily fed pigs and dogs with human food waste, while sheep/goats and cattle were foddered with other food sources. We compare stable isotope and archaeobotanical data from Shilinggang with data from other Bronze Age sites in Yunnan to explore potential regional variation in subsistence strategies. Our work suggests that people adopted different animal utilization and subsistence strategies in different parts of Yunnan during the Bronze Age period, probably as local adaptations to the highly diversified and isolated environments in the region.
2016 by Katherine Brunson
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2016
Domestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) were introduced to China from Central Asia between 3600 and ... more Domestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) were introduced to China from Central Asia between 3600 and 2000 cal BCE. Most of the earliest domestic cattle remains in China come from sacrificial or ritual contexts, especially in the form of oracle bones used in divination rituals. These oracle bones became closely tied to royal authority and are the source of the earliest written inscriptions in ancient China. In this article, we use ancient DNA to identify uninscribed bovine oracle bones from the Longshan period archaeological sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (late third millennium BCE). We found that in addition to making oracle bones out of domestic cattle scapulae, people also used aurochs (wild cattle: Bos primigenius) scapulae for oracle bone divination. Wild water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles) were also exploited at Zhoujiazhuang, but we did not identify water buffalo oracle bones in our analysis. We propose some morphological criteria that may be useful for distinguishing between these animals, but conclude that it is not always possible to identify bovine scapulae based on morphology alone. Our results indicate that wild and domestic bovines were sometimes present at the same sites and their bones were used in similar ways to make oracle bones. This raises the possibility that these species interbred and that people in ancient China may have experimented with managing indigenous Chinese wild bovines.
Highlights
• We identified the first known cases of aurochs oracle bones in ancient China.
• AMS dating indicates that aurochs were extant in north China ca. 1900 cal BCE.
• MtDNA confirms the presence of Bos haplogroup C previously identified in NE China.
• The objects raise questions about the role of cattle and aurochs in divination.
• Wild bovines may remain unrecognized in other Chinese faunal assemblages.
Keywords
Oracle bones; Longshan; Ancient DNA; Zooarchaeology; Chinese archaeology
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2016
In this paper, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of the Longshan period sites of Taosi and ... more In this paper, we present a zooarchaeological analysis of the Longshan period sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (ca. 2300–1900 cal. BC) in southern Shanxi Province, China. We compare the faunal record at both sites in terms of the proportions of wild and domestic taxa; the slaughter patterns for the main domesticates; the types of bones used to produce utilitarian and decorative bone artifacts; and the types of bones used for ritual oracle bone divination. Differences in the faunal records at Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang provide insights into the connections between specialization and early urbanism. Our research also provides clues about how sheep and cattle pastoralism was initially adopted in the Yellow River Valley during the late 3rd millennium BC.
2015 by Katherine Brunson
2014 by Katherine Brunson
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2023 by Katherine Brunson
2022 by Katherine Brunson
2021 by Katherine Brunson
2020 by Katherine Brunson
close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated
wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and
fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to
fatten quickly and produce larger litters. Early modern Europeans found Chinese pigs far
superior to their own and bred the two to create the breeds now employed in industrial
pork production around the world, including China. In recent decades, industrial farms
that scientifically control every aspect of pigs’ lives have spread rapidly. Until recently,
most Chinese people ate pork only on special occasions; their ability in recent decades
to eat it regularly exemplifies China’s increasing prosperity. Meanwhile, vast areas of
North and South American farmland are now devoted to growing soybeans to feed hundreds of millions of pigs in China, and the methane, manure, and antibiotic resistance
they produce creates environmental and health problems on a global scale.
Keywords: pigs, China, animals, agriculture, livestock, food, environment
2019 by Katherine Brunson
domestication. Much more research in these areas is needed, and we conclude by highlighting key future directions.
2018 by Katherine Brunson
2017 by Katherine Brunson
Keywords
Tibet Upper Paleolithic; High altitude adaptation; Seasonal transhumance; Tibetan genetic history
2016 by Katherine Brunson
Highlights
• We identified the first known cases of aurochs oracle bones in ancient China.
• AMS dating indicates that aurochs were extant in north China ca. 1900 cal BCE.
• MtDNA confirms the presence of Bos haplogroup C previously identified in NE China.
• The objects raise questions about the role of cattle and aurochs in divination.
• Wild bovines may remain unrecognized in other Chinese faunal assemblages.
Keywords
Oracle bones; Longshan; Ancient DNA; Zooarchaeology; Chinese archaeology
2015 by Katherine Brunson
2014 by Katherine Brunson
close relationship between pigs and people began when humans gradually domesticated
wild pigs over 8,000 years ago. While pigs initially foraged around settlements, population growth led people to pen their pigs, which made them household trash processors and
fertilizer producers. Household pigs were in daily contact with people, who bred them to
fatten quickly and produce larger litters. Early modern Europeans found Chinese pigs far
superior to their own and bred the two to create the breeds now employed in industrial
pork production around the world, including China. In recent decades, industrial farms
that scientifically control every aspect of pigs’ lives have spread rapidly. Until recently,
most Chinese people ate pork only on special occasions; their ability in recent decades
to eat it regularly exemplifies China’s increasing prosperity. Meanwhile, vast areas of
North and South American farmland are now devoted to growing soybeans to feed hundreds of millions of pigs in China, and the methane, manure, and antibiotic resistance
they produce creates environmental and health problems on a global scale.
Keywords: pigs, China, animals, agriculture, livestock, food, environment
domestication. Much more research in these areas is needed, and we conclude by highlighting key future directions.
Keywords
Tibet Upper Paleolithic; High altitude adaptation; Seasonal transhumance; Tibetan genetic history
Highlights
• We identified the first known cases of aurochs oracle bones in ancient China.
• AMS dating indicates that aurochs were extant in north China ca. 1900 cal BCE.
• MtDNA confirms the presence of Bos haplogroup C previously identified in NE China.
• The objects raise questions about the role of cattle and aurochs in divination.
• Wild bovines may remain unrecognized in other Chinese faunal assemblages.
Keywords
Oracle bones; Longshan; Ancient DNA; Zooarchaeology; Chinese archaeology