Research Articles

Faunal remains of the Yangshao period from the Gouwan site, Xichuan county, Henan province

  • Yanfeng HOU ,
  • Jian ZHANG ,
  • Yanpeng CAO ,
  • Songan JIN
Expand
  • 1. The History College of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001
    2. Henan Provincial Institute of Heritage and Archaeology, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000

Received date: 2020-12-10

  Revised date: 2021-01-20

  Online published: 2022-10-13

Abstract

This article focuses on the identification and analysis of faunal remains unearthed from the Gouwan site between 2007 and 2009 in Xichuan county, Henan Province. In the total excavation area of 5000 m2, more than 7700 faunal bone specimens were discovered, representing at least 23 species, including pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), dog (Canis familiaris), buffalo (Buballus buballus), rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sp. ), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), bamboo rat (Rhizomys sinensis), masked civet (Paguma larvata taivana) and mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi). Based on the stratigraphy and the typology of unearthed artifacts, the cultural remains belongs to the Yangshao Culture period from the Gouwan site can be divided into four phases. Some thermophilic species, such as rhinoceros, Asian elephants and bamboo rats were discovered in the earlier three phases, but no thermophilic animals were found in the fourth phase. This contrast suggests that the climate of the earlier phases were warmer than that of the fourth phase. The numbers of hunted animals in the first and second phases are more than or equal to those of domestic animals, indicating that hunting outweighed or equaled with raising domestic animals in local subsistence. However, pig bones account for 90.7% and 87.9% of NISP in the third and the fourth phases respectively, showing that animal husbandry, instead of hunting and fishing became dominated in subsistence economy. In particular, three burials of animal bones were found dated to the third phase. Each has a complete skeleton of adult sow, among which one was in late pregnancy carrying at least 7 babies (No.K15), providing important materials for studying the early domestic pig breeding in China.

Cite this article

Yanfeng HOU , Jian ZHANG , Yanpeng CAO , Songan JIN . Faunal remains of the Yangshao period from the Gouwan site, Xichuan county, Henan province[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2022 , 41(05) : 913 -926 . DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2021.0034

References

[1] Elizabeth JR, Elizabeth SW. Zooarchaeology Second Edition[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 1
[2] 黄蕴平. 动物骨骼数量分析和家畜驯化发展初探[A]. 见:河南省文物考古研究所(编).动物考古(第1辑)[M]. 北京: 文物出版社, 2010, 1-31
[3] 袁靖. 中国古代家养动物的动物考古学研究[J]. 第四纪研究, 2010, 30(2): 298-306
[4] Brunson KR, He N, Dai X. Sheep, Cattle, and Specialization: New Zooarchaeological Perspectives on the Taosi Longshan[J]. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2015, 26(3): 460-475
[5] 李志鹏, Brunson KR, 戴玲玲. 中原地区新石器时代到青铜时代早期羊毛开发的动物考古学研究[J]. 第四纪研究, 2014, 34(1): 149-157
[6] Campbell R, Li ZHP, He YL, et al. Consumption,Exchange and Production at the Great Settlement Shang: Bone-working at Tiesanlu, Anyang[J]. Antiquity, 2011, 85(330): 1279-1297
[7] Hou YF, Campbell R, Li ZHP, et al. The Guandimiao Bone Assemblage (and What it Says about the Shang Economy)[J]. Asian Perspectives, 2018, 57(2): 281-310
[8] 靳松安. 河南淅川县沟湾遗址仰韶文化遗存发掘简报[J]. 考古, 2010, 6: 7-21
[9] 西蒙•赫森. 哺乳动物骨骼和牙齿鉴定方法指南[M].译者:侯彦峰,马萧林. 北京: 科学出版社, 2012, 1-117
[10] 伊丽莎白•施密德. 动物骨骼图谱[M].译者:李天元. 北京: 中国地质大学出版社, 1992, 1-105
[11] Matsui A. Fundamentals of Zooarchaeology in Japan and East Asia[M]. Nara: Institution National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, 2007, 1-146
[12] 安格拉•冯登德里施. 考古遗址出土动物骨骼测量指南[M].译者:马萧林,侯彦峰. 北京: 科学出版社, 2007, 1-171
[13] Silver IA. The Aging of Domestic Animals[A]. In: Brothwell D, Higgs E(Eds.). Science in Archaeology: A Survey of Progress and Research[M]. New York: Praeger, 1970, 283-302
[14] Grant A. The use of tooth wear as a guide to the age of domestic ungulates[A]. In: Wilson B, Grigson C, Payne S(Eds.). Ageing and Sexing Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites[M]. Oxford: BAR British Series, 1982: 91-108
[15] Halstead P. A study of mandibular teeth from Romano-British contexts at Maxey[A]. In: Pryor F, French C(Eds.). The Fenland Project No. 1: Archaeology and Environment in the Lower Wellan Valley[R]. East Anglian Archaeology 109, 1985, 219-224
[16] Zeder MA, Lemoine X, Payne S. A new system for computing long-bone fusion age profiles in Sus scrofa[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2015, 55: 135-150
[17] 王育茜, 张萍, 靳桂云, 等. 河南淅川沟湾遗址2007年度植物浮选结果与分析[J]. 四川文物, 2011, 2: 80-92
[18] 付巧妹, 靳松安, 胡耀武, 等. 河南淅川沟湾遗址农业发展方式和先民食物结构变化[J]. 科学通报, 2010, 55(7): 589-595
[19] 袁靖. 考古遗址出土家猪的判断标准[N]. 中国文物报,2003-08-01(007)
[20] 施雅风, 孔昭宸, 王苏民, 等. 中国全新世大暖期鼎盛阶段的气候与环境[J]. 中国科学B辑, 1993, 23(8): 865-873
[21] 贾兰坡, 张振标. 河南淅川下王岗遗址中的动物群[J]. 文物. 1977, 6: 41-49
[22] 赵卓, 靳松安, 司彬, 等. 淅川沟湾遗址红烧土中植物遗存的辨别[J]. 华夏考古, 2012, 3: 34-37
[23] 张双权. 旧石器遗址动物骨骼表面非人工痕迹研究及其考古学意义[J]. 第四纪研究, 2014, 34(1): 131-140
Outlines

/