The Subsistence Economy In Datong Basin During C.4000a BP: Evidence From Stable Isotopes

The Datong region,an important area of exchange and integration in northern China.The clarification of local subsistence economy make it possible to better understand the production methods of prehistoric civilization,the economic structure of cultural regions,social patterns and the nature of cultural characteristics in this region.Human（n=6）and animal remains（n=52）unearthed at the Jijiazhuang site were subjected to accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C(AMS-¹⁴C)dating and stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the dietary patterns and subsistence economy in Datong Basin.AMS-¹⁴C dating results show that the age of the Jijiazhuang site is 4141～3838 cal.BP,belonging to the late Longshan Culture Period.Isotopic data showed that deer（-19.6‰±0.5‰,4.0‰±0.3‰;n=8）and horses（-18.0‰±1.1‰,4.0‰±0.3‰;n=4）relied on C₃-based food,indicating wild vegetation was composed of C₃plants in Datong Basin.Cattle（–15.2±1.7‰,7.0±1.4‰,n=8）and sheep（–16.0±0.6‰,7.0±1.4‰,n=10）primarily relied on C₃-based food,with a small amount of C₄-based food.Six human with 18 isotopic data（–7.6±0.5‰,8.8±0.3‰）show that human primarily relied on C₄-based food,likely millet-based food.Moreover,pigs（–6.7±0.5‰,7.5±1‰,n=12）,and most dogs（–8.1±0.5‰,7.2±0.1‰,n=5）has similar dietary patterns as humans.Therefore,the past populations mainly relied on millet-based agriculture and animal husbandry in Datong Basin.Based on the comparison of isotopic data from the Jijiazhuang site with relevant data from contemporaneous adjacent sites,it can be drawn that the human and domestic animals（pigs and dogs）relied more on millet-based agriculture in Datong Basin.However,new productivity elements,especially feeding cattle,were relatively less associated with millet-based agriculture in Datong Basin.Obviously,the limited influence of such productivity factors on the local subsistence economy reflects the uniqueness of subsistence economy in Datong Basin.The relatively limited social complexity of Datong Basin may be related to the unique local subsistence economy.