--AcasestudyofzooarchaeologyinYulin,ShaanxiProvincearound3,000yrBPHuSongmei,chiefexpertofthe“MultidisciplinaryStudyontheSubsistencePatternsandEnvironmentinYulin,ShaanxiProvinceduring3,000~2,000yrBP”,amajorprojectsupportedbyChina’sNationalSocialScienceFoundation,andresearchfellowwiththeShaanxiProvincialInstituteofArcheologyIntheYulinareaofnorthernShaanxiProvince,theNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion(NHAR),theInnerMongoliaAutonomousRegionandotherregionsofChina,beefandmuttonaswellaswoolensweatersandblanketsareknownfortheiruniquequalities.Thesespecialdietsanddailynecessitiesdistributedintheagro-pastoralzoneareinseparablefromherbivores,suchascattleandsheep.Whendidcattleandsheep,whicharecloselyrelatedtoourdailylives,appearinthisareaandbecomeourfood?WeretheearliestcattleandsheepdomesticatedbytheChinese?Ifnot,wheredidtheycomefrom?Whenandhowdidtheygettotheseplaces?TheYulinareaofnorthernShaanxiisatypicalagro-pastoralzoneinChina.Theclimateandvegetationoftheagro-pastoralzoneprovideareliableprerequisiteforlarge-scalebreedingofcattleandsheep.Inthepasttenyears,withtheconstructionofoilpipelines,highwaysandreservoirsandthefurtherdevelopmentofresearchontheoriginofcivilizationinthisarea,theShaanxiProvincialInstituteofArchaeologyandtheYulinMunicipalExplorationTeamofCulturalRelicsandArchaeologyhavejointlyexcavatedover30Neolithicsites,andinitiallyestablishedarelativelycompletesequenceofculturaldevelopmentinYulinareafrom5,000to4,000yearsago.Fromthesharp-bottombottlesysteminthelateYangshaoperiod(5,000-4,500yearsago)totheMiaosystemintheearlyLongshanperiod(MiaoErculture)(4,500-4,300yearsago)totheLisysteminthelateLongshanperiod(4,300-3,800yearsago),accordingtotheevolutionofpottery,eachperiodcanbefurtherdividedintotwostages-earlyandlate,orthreestages-early,middleandlate.Ateachsite,acomprehensivecollectionofhumanbones,animalandplantdatahasprovidedfirst-handoriginalbasicmaterialsforscientificresearchonthecontinuouschangesinthearea’ssubsistencepatterns.Distributionandcharacteristicsofagro-pastoralzonesinnorthernChinaTheboundarybetweenagriculturalandpastoralzonesinChinaisroughlyequivalenttothecontourlineofannualprecipitationof400millimeters.Toitseastandsoutharemainlyagriculturalareas,andtoitswestandnortharemainlypastoralareas.Betweenthetworegions,thereisanagro-pastoralecotonespreadingalongthenortheast-southwestdirection,withspatialcoexistenceofagricultureandanimalhusbandry,andtemporalalternationbetweenagricultureandanimalhusbandry.StartingfromHulunbuiratthewesternfootoftheGreaterKhinganMountainsinthenorth,itextendstothesouthwest,passesthroughsoutheasternInnerMongolia,northernHebei,andnorthernShanxitoreachOrdosinInnerMongoliaandtheYulinareainnorthernShaanxi.China’sagro-pastoralecotoneisasemi-aridecologicaltransitionzone,locatedontheedgeoftheEastAsianmonsoonzone,withafragileecologicalenvironment,obviousfluctuationsindrynessandwetness,andfrequentboundaryfluctuations.TheYulinareaofnorthernShaanxiProvinceislocatedintheagro-pastoralareainChina’simmediateneighboringarc.ToitsnorthwestistheEurasianprairiepastoralarea,toitssoutheastisthefarmingarea.Itislocatedinanareasensitivetochangesinclimate,environmentandsubsistencepatterns.Werestoredthelivelihoodcharacteristicsoftheancestorsoftheregioninvariousperiodsthroughthechangesinanimalspecies,thenumberandpercentageoftheirbonesinmanyarchaeologicalsitesinYulinareaaround3,000yrBP.Formationoftheagro-pastoralzoneinnorthernChinaTheagro-pastoraltransitionzonewasformedwiththeemergenceofagricultureandanimalhusbandry.InChina,theformationofnorthernmillet-farmingeconomywasmuchearlierthananimalhusbandry,anditoriginatedintheNeolithicageabout10,000yearsago.Withtheemergenceofherbivores,suchascattle,sheepandhorses,animalhusbandrycameintobeing.Wheneverthereareenvironmentalfluctuationsintheworldoracertainarea,thechangesintemperature,precipitationandotherfactorsfirstoccurattheedgeofthenaturalbelt.Thesefactorswillcausecorrespondingchangesinvegetation,animalspeciesandsoil,andinturnaffectthetransformationofthewayhumansliveandproduce.Thereisamutualrelationshipbetweenhumansandtheenvironment.Therelativelyfavorableclimateprovidesastageforhumanactivities,butlarge-scalehumanactivitieswillalsohaveanimpactontheenvironment.Theproductivityofprimitivesocietywaslow,andhumanbeingswouldmaximizetheuseofvariousnaturalresourcesprovidedbynaturefortheirlivelihoods.Whentheclimateiswarmandthereisplentyofrain,itissuitableforthecultivationofcropsandtheraisingofdomesticpigs;whentheclimatebecomesdryandcold,thenaturalforageismainlyusedforgrazingtoraiselivestock,suchascattle,sheepandhorses.Throughanimalarchaeologicalstudiesonaseriesofsitesfromtheearlystagetothelatestage,wefoundthatthebonesunearthedfromthethreesitesofthefirstandsecondphasesoftheWuzhuangGuoyaninJingbian,HengshanDagujieandYangjieshainthelateYangshaoperiodmainlybelongtowildanimals,respectivelyaccountingfor66%,90%and56%ofthecorrespondingcollections.Thewildanimalsaremainlygrassrabbits,roedeer,ring-neckedpheasants,etc.Theproportionofdomesticanimalsisgenerallylessthan40%,mainlypigs,followedbydogs.Therearenoidentifiablesheeporcattle.Thefoodforpigsanddogsmainlycomesfromfoodrelatedtomillet-farmingproduction,suchasbranandleftovergrains.AttheHengshanJiadamaoandthesecondphaseofMiaolianginJingbianintheearlyLongshanperiod,cattleandsheepbegantoappear,buttheirnumbersweresmall,andanimalhusbandrybegantotakeshape.Atthattime,thesubsistencepatternwasstilldominatedbyagricultureandsupplementedbyanimalhusbandry,huntingandgathering.AttheShimaoandMuzhuzhuliangsitesinShenmuCountyandHuoshiliangsitesinYulinareainthelateLongshanperiodandearlyXiaDynasty,therewerealargenumberofanimalbones,andthenumberoflivestockgenerallysurpassed80%,mainlydomesticanimals,suchassheepandgoats,cattleandpigs.ComparedwiththelateYangshaoperiodwhenpigsanddogsweredominantdomesticanimals,significantchangeshadtakenplace,sheepandcattleaccountedformorethan60%ofthetotal.Inthisperiod,comparedwiththelateYangshaoperiod,newdomesticanimalsincludedsheep,goatsandcattle;comparedwiththeearlyperiodofLongshan,goatswereadded,andtheproportionofgoatswasquitehigh,indicatingthatthelivestockeconomywasplayingamajorrole.Throughthechangesinthemainanimalgeneraandspeciesandthepercentageofeachanimalfromtheearlytolateperiods,itcanbeseenthattheproportionofthelivestockeconomyintheLongshanerawasgraduallyincreasing,andtheagriculturaleconomywasrelativelyweakened.Inadynamicprocessofwaxingandwaning,anagro-pastoralecotoneemerged.ThelivestockeconomygraduallydevelopedfromitsinfancystageintheearlyLongshanperiodtothematurestageinthelateLongshanperiod.Basedontheanimalarchaeologicaldatafrom5,000to4,000yearsagointheYulinareaofnorthernShaanxithathavebeenpublishedandarebeingcompiled,thebonesofcattleandsheepunearthedfromtheHengshanJiadamaoandJingbianMiaoliangPhaseIIsitesintheearlyLongshanperiodshouldbetheearliestandlargestinnumberinChina,markingtheemergenceofthegrasslandanimalhusbandryeconomyintheregion.Theproductioncharacteristicsoftheagro-pastoralzoneintheimmediateneighboringarcofChinatodaymaybetracedbacktotheearlydaysoftheLongshanperiodaround4,500-4,300yearsago.ThegoatsunearthedatMuzhuzhuliangandShimaositesaretheearliestgoatswithdatingdata,about4,000yearsago.Thenewlivestockeconomy,suchastheemergenceandbreedingofsheep,goatsandcattleinlargenumbers,haslaidasolidmaterialandeconomicfoundationfortherapiddevelopmentandstrengtheningofthesuper-largesettlementofShimaocultureinShenmuCountyandtheprogressofhumancivilization.ThespreadofcattleandsheepandthedevelopmentofanimalhusbandryinChinaBasedoncurrentDNAresults,sheepandcattlewerenotfirstdomesticatedinChina,andtheiroriginsandtransmissionprocessesweresimilaranddifferent.BothofthemoriginatedinWestAsiaabout10,000yearsago,andwereintroducedtoChinaabout4,500yearsago,buttheirtransmissionroutesmightbeslightlydifferent.SincebeingdomesticatedinWestAsia,thesheepbegantospreadeastwardthroughtheEurasiangrasslands,reachingtheMongolianplateau,andthendiverged,partlyspreadingsouthwardalongRuoshui(HeiheRiver)toreachtheHexiCorridor,andpartlyspreadingeastwardtoreachtheHetaoregionofChina.Thentherewasa90-degreeturn,startingfromnorthtosouth,andspreadingsouthtotheCentralPlainsthroughthenorth-southvalleychannel.ThismayhelpusunderstandthephenomenonofearlysheepandcattleremainsinthemiddleandlowerreachesoftheYellowRiveraround4,500yearsago.BasedonthediscoveriesintheYulinareaofnorthernShaanxi,thesheepandcattleinthisareaappearedearlierthan,oratthesameasintheHexiCorridor.However,cattlehadtwoindependentcentersoforigin.TheremightbetworoutesintoChina.Onewasbasicallythesameasthatofsheep.TheotherspreadeastwardfromSouthAsiaandenteredYunnanProvincethroughtheIndusRiver,andthenspreadnorthwardtotheYellowRiverBasinandotherpartsofChina.Theacceptanceanddevelopmentofnewfactorsofproductionspreadtoanareadependsonthelocalclimateconditionsandvegetation.Duetoitsdryclimateandlowtemperature,theYulinareaofnorthernShaanxihasalwaysbeenplantingmillet,quinoaandothermiscellaneousgrainsthatadapttodroughtsincetheNeolithicperiod.Plantarchaeologicalstudieshaveshownthatthehigh-qualityforagessuchasArtemisiafrigida,SweetClover,andLespedezainthevegetationofthelateLongshanperiodprovidedsufficientmaterialsforthedevelopmentoflivestockeconomy.DuringtheLongshan-cultureperiodinYulinofnorthernShaanxi,high-qualityforagesallowedlocalresidentstoacceptsheep,goatsandcattlefromthewest,andquicklydevelopedalivestockeconomythatdominatedthelocalproduction,whichexertedaprofoundimpactontheeconomy,societyandcultureofYulinandsurroundingareas.Tothisday,thisareastillfeaturesasemi-agriculturalandsemi-pastoraleconomy,andanimalhusbandryhasbecomeapillarindustry,whichhaspromotedthedevelopmentofthelocaleconomy,societyandculture.GuangmingDaily(July29,2020,Page16)