The subsistence economy on the northwest edge of the Loess Plateau during c.4000 a BP:Evidence from stable isotopes
To reveal the relationship between millet-based agriculture and new productivity factors(cattle and sheep husbandry)on the northwest edge of the Loess Plateau during c.4000 a BP,stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human(n=3)and faunal(n=53)bones from the Bicun site were undertaken.Results show that some humans(-7.3‰,8.8‰,n=1),pigs(-7.9±1.7‰,5.9±0.7‰,n=15),and dogs(-7.8±0.3‰,7.5±0.4‰,n=2)mainly lived on millet-based food,while other humans(-13.4±0.2‰,6.7±1.0‰,n=2),cattle(-13.9±1.3‰,5.6±0.6‰,n=11),and sheep(-16.0±1.1 ‰,5.3±0.7‰,n=15)lived on C3/C4 mixed food.Cattle and sheep not only grazed in wild ecosystems but also ate millet-based foods.Many deep gullies and ravines on the northwest edge of the Loess Plateau are not suitable for the development of millet agriculture but are the ideal pasture for herding cattle and sheep,which undoubtedly promoted material productivity.Meanwhile,instead of encroaching on the development of pig feeding,cattle and sheep husbandry made the utilization of millet-based food more effective.
Bicun sitec.4000 a BPCarbon and nitrogen stable isotopesMillet agricultureHerding sheep and cattle
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