Pig Management Strategies During The Early Dawenkou Cultural Period (Ca. 6200-5600 Bp): A Stable Isotopic Analysis Of Animal Remains From The Houtieying Site, Anhui Province, China

During the Dawenkou cultural period (ca. 6100-4600 BP) in China, people were frequently buried with pigs, but there are still many outstanding questions concerning domestic pig husbandry and management. In this study, we conducted a stable isotopic analysis on the animal remains from Houtieying, an early Dawenkou cultural site, to understand pig husbandry in this region. The results reveal that suids at Houtieying had a diverse diet, the majority of the suids analyzed consumed C3-based food, but others had a more C3/C4 mixed diet. The zooarchaeological composition of the suids from Houtieying is complex because wild boars and domestic pigs are mixed in the assemblage. Moreover, it is difficult to distinguish wild boars from domestic pigs based on the stable isotopic results which suggest that they shared a similar diet. Thus, the domesticated pigs are assumed to be managed in a comparatively free-range manner, not through keeping them in pens. In addition to foraging in the natural environment, domestic pigs were also probably fed with a small number of cultivated foods, i.e., byproducts of millet and rice. Compared to studies that date to the previous periods, e.g., the Shuangdun and Houjiazhai sites of the Shuangdun culture, domestic pigs became more important during the Dawenkou cultural period which is linked to the development of pig husbandry. Additionally, through a comparative analysis of stable isotopic values of pigs from different archaeological sites, we observed variations in pig husbandry strategies within the early Dawenkou cultural sphere, which are constrained by specific ecosystems, agricultural regimes, and social factors.