Study On Animal Remains Unearthed In Xinzhai Site In 2014

The Xinzhai site is located in Xinzhai Village,Xinmi City,Henan Province,on the north bank of the Shuangji River.The total area of the site is about 1 million square meters.Since excavation in 1979,a large number of animal bone remains have been unearthed.Previously,scholars have conducted two animal archaeological studies on the animal bones unearthed in the site in 1999-2000 and 2002-2004.This paper is mainly to identify and study animal bones and other remains excavated in2014.By conducting species identification,quantitative statistics,statistics and analysis of the age of death,statistics and analysis of the discovery rate of bone parts,statistics of bone surface traces,and determination of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes on animal remains unearthed in 2014 The relationship between the people and the animals and the ancestors have a detailed understanding of the use of animals.Judging from the animal's death age structure,Xinzhai ancestors have strict control over the slaughter of pigs,with more than 90% of them dying before the age of 2 years,indicating that pigs are the main source of meat for Xinzhai ancestors.The death age of sheep is mainly concentrated after 6 years of age,and there are not a large number of young sheep slaughtered at the same time,indicating that the way the ancestors used sheep was mainly to develop secondary products,that is,to produce wool.About half of the yellow cattle died at the age of 4 or later.It is speculated that the use of cattle by Xinzhai ancestors should include the use of force in addition to meat.The deer is the second largest animal in the Xinzhai ruins after the pigs,indicating the ancestors' preference for deer.Among them,the sika deer is the main reason.The death age results show that the sika deer are mostly slaughtered after 2.5years old,indicating that the ancestors have some control over the deer's death age,probably because of the protection of the sika deer population.Hunting adult individuals.The results of animal carbon and nitrogen stable isotope studies show that the agricultural production level of the Xinzhai site is relatively stable and can provide a stable food source for ancestors and domestic animals.This is reflected in the stable isotope results of domestic pigs,cattle and dogs.The three animals all feed on C4 plants,namely millet.The sheep's diet contains both C4 and C3 plants,reflecting that the ancestors may adopt free-range breeding methods.In addition,the stable isotope results of buffaloes and large and medium-sized deer show that they have ingested a certain amount of C4 plants,indicating that the ancestors used them when they were concentrated and controlled after feeding and fed for special activities.This article also compares and summarizes the results of this animal archaeological research with the results of previous years,to further enrich the composition of the fauna of the Xinzhai site and the way the ancestors used animal resources.In addition,the site is compared with other sites to explore the diachronic and synchronic changes of the ancestors' patterns of animal resource utilization.From the late Longshan Culture period to the Erlitou culture period in Henan,the ancestors chose animal species in the same vein,all of which mainly used pigs,deer,cattle,sheep and dogs.In quantity,with time,the number of cattle and sheep has increased significantly.The changes of the ancestors' utilization models of animal resources are mainly reflected in the fact that sheep and cattle are gradually being used for meat,indicating that the livestock breeding industry in this area has further developed,the productivity level has gradually increased,and the industrial economy has become more complicated.In general,the Xinzhai site is rich in fauna,including pigs,cattle,sheep and dogs are domestic animals.The development and utilization of animal resources by the ancestors showed diverse characteristics.The main sources of meat for the ancestors were pigs and deer.In addition to providing meat,cattle were also used for servicing,and sheep were mainly used for wool production.It shows that the Xinzhai site is an advanced city site in the early stage of the formation of Chinese civilization,and its developed livestock breeding and economic conditions.