Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State-Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China

During the late Longshan period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) settlements on the Central Plains of China underwent a diversification in food production technologies, which set the stage for rapid economic and social development. The introduction of novel domesticates such as rice, wheat, cattle, and sheep not only provided more food choices, but also changed ideas concerning land use, farming techniques, and the use and mobilization of large scale labor forces. To better understand the contribution that these new dietary items and practices made to shaping the late Longshan period societies, a stable isotope ratio study of humans (n=12) and animals (n=42) was conducted at the late Longshan period site of Wadian. The human C-13 and N-15 values are clustered into two distinct groups. One group of nine individuals (C-13=-9.9 +/- 0.7 parts per thousand; N-15=7.5 +/- 0.5 parts per thousand) had a predominately C-4 diet based on millet grains with little protein input from the domestic animals. The other group of three individuals (C-13=-14.3 +/- 0.8 parts per thousand; N-15=10.2 +/- 0.3 parts per thousand) had a mixed C-3/C-4 diet of millets and rice and were consuming sheep and cattle. The animals also displayed dietary diversity with the pigs (C-13=-11.3 +/- 2.5 parts per thousand; N-15=6.9 +/- 1.0 parts per thousand, n=10) and dogs (C-13=-10.1 +/- 1.0 parts per thousand; N-15=7.2 +/- 1.1 parts per thousand, n=7) having mostly a C-4 plant based diet (millets). In contrast, the cattle (C-13=-12.8 +/- 2.1 parts per thousand; N-15=7.6 +/- 0.7 parts per thousand, n=9), sheep (C-13=-16.7 +/- 0.9 parts per thousand; N-15=7.6 +/- 0.1 parts per thousand, n=2), and cervids (C-13=-20.8 +/- 0.9 parts per thousand; N-15=5.0 +/- 1.2 parts per thousand, n=10) had diets with a greater contribution from C-3 sources such as rice and wild plants. The discovery that humans and animals had different subsistence patterns indicates dietary complexity at Wadian and that rice agriculture, and cattle and sheep husbandry practices were already an important part of the local economy by the late Longshan period in the southern region of the Central Plains of China. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.