A Study On The Human Diet And Social Stratification Of The Dahan Cemetery During The Eastern Zhou

This paper analyzed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of human and faunal bones from the Dahan Eastern Zhou cemetery,Tengzhou,Shandong Province,to explore the influence of social stratification on the diet of the Eastern Zhou population.Combining evidences from historical documents,archaeological context and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of 32 faunal samples and 67 human samples from the Dahan cemetery,it is suggested that:(1)The diet of the Dahan population was a combination of C3 and C4 foods,but there were obvious differences among individuals.In terms of meat consumption levels,there are also large differences among individuals,and the primary faunal resources are probably domestic animals such as pigs,sheep/goat,and cattle.(2)There are significant dietary differences among groups of different social status in Dahan population,with the nobles consuming more animal protein(include domestic animals and some wild and aquatic resources such as deer and fish)and more "preferred"staple food resources(mainly millets)than human sacrifices.This finding is also supported by paleopathological evidences.There were also obvious dietary differences within the same class,and the intra-nobles differences appear to have been less than those of human sacrifices.(3)Although Dahan population exhibits significant dietary differences between the sexes,this phenomenon is due to the large number of female human scrifices,hence it reflects differences by social stratification rather than by sex.No significant dietary differences were found among Dahan population of different age.(4)The diachronic changes in the diet of Dahan population were found mainly among human sacrifices,which probably consumed more C3 foods such as wheat or soybeans from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States.(5)The comparative analysis of different Eastern Zhou archaeological sites in the Middle and Lower Yellow River,indicates that the diet of the Eastern Zhou population was closely related to individuals’ social status,and also showed noticeable regional and hierarchical differences.To a certain extent,this study corroborates the historical record and provides direct evidence and important clues to the influence of social stratification on the diet of the Eastern Zhou population.However,to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between social statification and the diet of the population during the Eastern Zhou,more samples from the Eastern Zhou period need to be analyzed in the future.In addition,a more extensive cross-regional comparative study should be conducted.