Research Of Human Diet In Shang Period Of The Daxinzhuang Site And Liujiazhuang Site

Daxinzhuang and Liujiazhuang site are two important sites in Shangdong Province in Shang Period, the cultural relics that were found in these two sites provide large amount of significant information for studying the residents’ social life in Shang Period. Basing on the excavation finds in 2010 in these two sites, this article analyzes the plant remains and the stable isotope of carbon and nitrogen. By combining two kinds of results, this article intends to study the Shang residents’ diet and the utilization of the botany.The main results from the analysis are as follows:(1) The main crops of the Shang residents include foxtail and broomcorn millets, rice, soybean and wheat, among them the most important two species are foxtail and broomcorn millets, soybean, while the rice and wheat are quite less; the residents could also take the leaf, fruit or root of other plants as the food resource, like vegetables, fruits and tubers, etc.(2) According to the spatial analysis of the plant remains from Daxinzhuang site, it indicates that different feature unit includes different kinds of plant seeds and fruits. While combining the plant remains and the excavation background, it is much easier to explain the property and formation of the feature, and the original issue for the plants.(3) According to the plant remains and the results of the stable isotope of the human bones’ carbon and nitrogen, the C4 species, like the foxtail and broomcorn millets, has taken a key role in the ancestors’ main course, with few C3 species like the wheat. At the same time, the higher δ15N shows that their meat material could also be quite abundant. The different δ15N between the individuals means the way they got the meat could be different, while it could be shown in two perspectives:the gender difference and hierarchicalin equality.(4) After the initial comparison of the residences’ diets of Shang period between the North Shandong Area and Central Area, their diet is basically the same, while the percentage of rice and wheat could be a little different, and the way they got the meat material were also different.