Abstract:

This paper aims to investigate the population and society in Guanzhuang settlement during Zhou Dynasty in the core area of Central Plains based on bioarchaeological perspective. Crop cultivation and livestock were flourishing. Cropland management and agricultural production were at a higher level. Bone manufacture became specialized and was conducted in a certain workshop. Social stratification existed in Guanzhuang settlement and composition of residents was complex. These social conditions affected the population diet in Guanzhuang settlement. The nobility had higher δ ¹⁵N value and ate more meat compared with civilians with lower δ ¹⁵N value. Civilians with different burial customs had differences in the diet: People with extended supine burial relied on C₄ food, but people with flexed burial ate more C₃ food. Some people with flexed burail even ate rice which was not cultivated in Guanzhuang settlement. This situation indicates that people with flexed burial had high mobility and may be external population. Complexity in population structure was related to the social and political turbulence during the late Western Zhou Dynasty to early Spring and Autumn Period.

Key words: Guanzhuang site, Zhou Dynasty, Bioarchaeology