Pastoralism in the Ordos Region, North China

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FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO- PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA.

Tricia E. Owlett

Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, 521 Memorial Way, Stanford University, CA Stanford University, 94305-2145 Address correspondence to Tricia Owlett, E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT during the late Neolithic period are still preliminary but The results of recent archaeological research in the Ordos also include a wide variety of stone knives, microblades, region provide new information on the timing and process grinding stones, adzes, axes, and spades (Shaanxi, 2016). of the development of agro-pastoralism in China. Integrat- ing previously published archaeological materials with archaeological research conducted since 2000, this essay synthesizes our current understanding of archaeological data for the middle to late Neolithic period (ca. 3500–1800 BCE) of the Ordos Region. The region is generally defined as including northern Shaanxi, southwestern Inner Mon- golia, northeastern Ningxia, and western Shanxi Prov- inces. Research on the transition to large-scale reliance upon domesticated herd animals is just beginning, but zooarchaeological data indicate that caprine and cattle husbandry were important from the Late Neolithic period on- wards. During this time, low-scale exploitation of wild resources obtained through hunting and foraging appear to have been complementary to the diet. Zooarchaeological reports on sites in the Ordos region provide a foundation for understanding the origins and development of agro- pastoralism in this part of Northwest China. Keywords: The Ordos region; agro-pastoralism; human-environmental interaction; zooarchaeology.

INTRODUCTION The archaeological record of the Ordos Region indicates that ceramic styles, stone tool traditions, and subsistence strategies changed from the middle Neolithic (ca. 5000– 3000 BCE) to the late Neolithic period (ca. 3000–1800 BCE) (Han, J., 2003; Liu and Chen 2012: 228-232; Liu et al. 2014; Wang and Guo, 2016). For example, the middle Neolithic period is marked by the appearance of Yangshao period pottery that is very similar to the Banpo and Miaodi- gou types in the Central Plains and includes long narrow jars (ping), bowls (bo), and basins (pan) (Kang, 2013). Stone tool assemblages during this time include a wide variety of stone knives, microblades, grinding stones, adzes, axes, and spades (Liu et al., 2016). Conversely the late Ne- olithic is defined by the introduction of new grey and black paste ceramic traditions with several sub-regional stylistic variations that include tripods (li, yan, and ding), stemmed dishes (dou), and storage jars (guan) and lasts throughout Figure 1. Location map showing the principle sites of the Ordos most of the 3th millennium and into the 2nd millennium Region discussed in the text. Adapted from Wang and Zhang BCE (Sun, Z., 2005). Studies on stone tool assemblages 2016.

JOURNAL OF INDO-PACIFIC ARCHAEOLOGY 40 (2016): 42-53 OWLETT: FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA.

Table 1. Summary of key archaeological sites from the Ordos region, with zooarchaeological data discussed in the text.

MAIN DOMESTIC ANIMAL TAXA SITE NAME TIME PERIOD (BCE) (MNI) SOURCES 1. Shihushan c. 3500- 3400 BCE Pig (15) Huang et al. 2001; Flad et al. 2007; Liu et al. 2014; Liu and Chen 2012: 228- 229; Dodson et al. 2014. 2. Dabagou c. 3800- 3000 BCE Pig (5), Cattle (2) Inner Mongolia 2003; Flad et al. 2007 3. Miaozigou c. 3800- 3000 BCE Pig (5), Cattle (2) Inner Mongolia 2003; Flad et al. 2007; Liu and Chen 2012: 228-229 4. Yangjiesha c. 3020-2890 BCE Pig (15), Sheep (1) Hu et al. 2013 5. Dagujie Late Yangshao Period Pig (1), Sheep (1) Hu et al. 2012 6. Late Yangshao Period Pig (45) Hu et al. 2005 Wuzhuangguoli- ang 7. Huoshiliang c. 2150-1900 BCE Pig (13), Caprinae (61), Hu et al.2008; Liu and Chen 2012:228-229; Dodson et al. 2014 Cattle (9) 8. Shimao c. 2300-1800 BCE Pig (17), Caprinae (52), Owlett et al. in press; Hu et al. 2016; Zhao 2016 Cattle (11) 9. Zhaimaoliang Late Neolithic Period Pig (6), Caprinae (10), Owlett et al. in press; Cattle (6) 10. Muzhu- Late Neolithic to Pig (11), Caprinae (55), Wang and Guo 2016 zhuliang Erlitou Period Cattle (20) 11. Zhukaigou I- c. 3000-1900 BCE Pig (27),, Sheep (32), Cat- Huang et al. 1996; Flad et al. 2007; Liu and Chen 2012: 228-229 II tle (14)

Regional settlement surveys do not currently allow us to interdisciplinary studies of zooarchaeology have begun in- have a detailed examination of differences in settlement vestigating issues such as salt production, bone tool pro- patterns and regional settlement hierarchies between the duction systems, and urban foodways (e.g. Campbell et al., middle Neolithic Yangshao and later periods (Indrisano, 2011; Flad, 2005; Brunson et al., 2015). However, few G., 2006; Inner Mongolia and Japan, 2001; Sun, Z. 2016; studies of animal remains in this region have linked these Tian and Guo, 2004). However, it is apparent that a number data to pastoralism or agro-pastoralism. Scholars have pub- of larger sized settlements begin to emerge during the late lished some tentative work related to agro-pastoralism in Neolithic period. Similarly, excavations of single sites in the Ordos Region (Liu and Chen, 2012: 228-229; Shelach, this region demonstrate that many large and small late Ne- 2009b; Wang, 1994), but until recently the faunal evidence olithic period settlements emerge with fortified walled fea- was too sparse to effectively trace long-term regional de- tures primarily constructed of locally available sandstone velopments in the agro-pastoral economy. Within the last and earth (Guo and Sun, 2016). twenty years the economy of the Ordos region has experi- Despite a rich and emerging archaeological tradition in enced growth due to interest in natural gas and coal pro- the region, questions remain regarding the management duction, and many construction projects have exposed ar- and use of domesticated animals and the role animal hus- chaeological habitation sites that are largely excavated on bandry played in social change during this transition. This a salvage archaeology basis. This recent economic activity paper reviews the earliest evidence for agro-pastoralism in has produced a growing body of zooarchaeological evi- the region and discusses how animal husbandry changed dence from middle and late Neolithic sites that allows us to over time at a series of sites ranging from 3500 BCE to begin to investigate long-term regional transition to agro- 1800 BCE (Fig. 1). It synthesizes previous research on the pastoralism in the Ordos Region. study of early agro-pastoralism in the Ordos Region, which The following discussion is a synthesis of the most re- until now has largely been published only in Chinese jour- cent archaeological data on the Ordos Region, with partic- nals and is not readily accessible to non-Chinese speakers. ular attention to subsistence, environment, and increas- The archaeology of early pastoralism in China has long ingly complex agro-pastoral systems. The Ordos Region been a part of East Asian archaeology, and while much pro- can be separated into four main cultural and geographic gress has been made to understand this phenomenon in pre- zones: (1) western Shanxi, (2) northeastern Ningxia, (3) history many of these studies neglect to include long-term northern Shaanxi Province, and (4) southwestern Inner investigations of zooarchaeological remains (Barfield, Mongolia. This paper reviews the new data generated from 1989; Di Cosmo, 2002; Fuller et al., 2011; Linduff, 1997; zooarchaeological analysis found at six middle Neolithic Rhode et al., 2007; Shelach, 2005). Recent studies of early period sites and at five late Neolithic sites from southwest- pastoralism in China have contributed to the study of pas- ern Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi provinces. These toralism globally by investigating human adaptations to studies help us reconstruct early agro-pastoralism in North climatic change (D’Alpoim Guedes et al., 2014; D’Alpoim China and bring the data to the worldwide discussion in Guedes, 2015), as well as to the understanding the socio- English. The sites with evidence of agro-pastoral animal political organization of early pastoral societies in Eurasia husbandry discussed in this paper are listed in Figure 1 and (Wagner et al., 2011). At the same time, the recovery of Table 1. animal remains in China is increasingly becoming a sys- tematic and problem-oriented discipline and more recent

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DEFINING AGRO-PASTORALISM AND HUMAN- Central Plains. The Yangshao culture dates from approxi- ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS mately 5000-3000 BCE and is commonly divided into an There have been many attempts to define the term pasto- early (ca. 5000-4000 BCE), middle (ca. 4000-3500 BCE), ralism. It is commonly defined as being both an economic and late period (ca. 3500-3000 BCE). During this time peo- adaptation (Khazanov, 1984; Krader, 1959) and a cultural ple lived in sedentary settlements and produced hand- phenomenon (Ingold, 1980). Pastoralists are people who coiled ceramics that were decorated or painted with pig- largely rely upon the production and consumption of do- ments. Both ground and chipped stone tools were utilized mestic herd animals for material resources such as meat, and individuals practiced mostly hunting, rearing of do- dairy, fiber, and dung, along with art and symbolism, mesticated livestock, gathering, and agriculture through a wealth, labor, and protection (Arbuckle, 2012; Miller and lesser degree of millet cultivation (Setaria italica and Pani- Marston, 2012; Orton, 2010). Cross-culturally the charac- cum milliaceum) (Kang, 2013; Liu et al., 2016). Animal terization of pastoral economics in the archaeological rec- bones of six Yangshao period sites in this region have been ord is recognized as being particularly difficult, and ar- subjected to zooarchaeological analysis. These include chaeologists have used architectural, spatial, archaeobotan- three archaeological sites in southwestern Inner Mongolia ical, and zooarchaeological evidence to understand this (Shihushan, Miaozigou, Dabagou) (Huang, 2001; Inner phenomenon worldwide (e.g. Capriles and Tripcevich, Mongolia, 2003) and three archaeological sites in northern 2016; Chang and Koster, 1986; Frachetti, 2012; Hammer, Shaanxi Province (Yangjiesha, Wuzhangguoliang, Da- 2014; Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016; McClure, gujie) (Hu et al., 2005, 2012, 2013). 2015; Spengler, et al. 2013b). The beginning of small-scale animal husbandry in this Pastoralists rarely rely entirely on resources derived region (sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle) is poorly understood, from animals as economic staples and often supplement although it is very clear that by approximately the early their diet with multiple resources including foraging, hunt- Yangshao period (ca. 5000-4000 BCE) sheep and pig hus- ing, fishing, exchanging food, and cultivating plant crops bandry was being exploited on a very small scale, with an (Salzman, 1971). Agro-pastoralism is in its simplest form intensive utilization of both large and small game. For ex- a type of multi-resource pastoralism in which some com- ample, analysis of faunal remains from Shihushan has munities live within sedentary agricultural villages or are demonstrated that domesticated pigs only account for ap- fully nomadic but heavily rely upon domesticated herd an- proximately 11% of the faunal remains (MNI=15) (Fig 2) imals as a fundamental part of their subsistence strategies (Daihai Region Investigation Team, 2001; Huang, 2001; and way of life (Cribb, 1991; Lane, 2006). In agro-pastor- Liu et al., 2014; Flad et al., 2007). Some of the first con- alist communities there are often constant interconnected crete zooarchaeological evidence of possible small-scale shifts between the dynamics of herding and farming animal husbandry comes from Shihushan where direct ra- through time (Miller et al., 2009). These changes are often diocarbon dating upon three possibly domesticated sheep related to the larger locally situated socio-political, ecolog- samples (Ovis sp.) has confirmed a date of 4700-4400 BCE ical and geographical landscapes in which these communi- (Dodson et al., 2014). These sheep bones were found in as- ties exist (Frachetti, 2012). Similarly, agro-pastoral socie- sociation with other domestic species such as pigs and dogs ties may vary widely in their annual and seasonal mobility and were therefore suggested to also be domesticated. patterns depending upon ecological factors such as water However, ancient mtDNA was not successfully obtained and pasture availability in addition to herd composition and from these samples, and more work is needed to confirm demographics (Spengler, 2013a). the domestication status of these sheep. The cattle, sheep, and goats raised by the early agro- Furthermore, it is possible that these sheep remains pastoral communities of the Ordos Region were domesti- could represent one of the many wild bovids in the region. cated in south-west Asia and brought to China via multiple The appearance of sheep bones within the assemblage routes, possibly through the Hexi Corridor (Flad et al., might represent a stage of pre-domestication herding strat- 2007), or through the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia egies, or these finds might be representative of wild sheep (Liu and Chen, 2012; Janz, 2016) (Fig. 1.). To date, very that were initially hunted by forager-gatherers (Flad et al. little zooarchaeological work has been carried out in con- 2007; Brunson, 2015). There are many different breeds of temporary sites in the Gobi Desert, the Mongolian high- native wild bovids in Northwest China including argali lands, or the Altai region, although recent work in the upper mountain sheep (Ovis ammon), blue sheep (Pseudois na- Paleolithic and early Neolithic has greatly supplemented yaur), domestic goat (Capra hircus), domestic sheep (Ovis our understanding of the early periods of these regions aries), Himalayan goral (Nemorhaedus goral), and the (Holguín and Sternberg, in press; Janz, 2016; Janz et al., Chinese serow (Capricornis serow) along with several spe- 2009). Further research in these areas is needed to deter- cies of Gazella and Procapra. Challenges in osteometrics mine the routes used to introduce early herd animals into and osteomorphology currently exist in accurately distin- the Ordos Region. guishing between morphologically similar bones of these various wild and domestic species (Wang, Y., 2015). THE BEGINNING OF SMALL-SCALE ANIMAL Analyses of zooarchaeological remains from two late HUSBANDRY AND THE YANGSHAO PERIOD Yangshao period sites of Miaozigou and Dabagou in southwestern Inner Mongolia have similarly demonstrated that The economy of the Yangshao Period in the Ordos Region small scale cattle husbandry had possibly spread from nort- is roughly similar to that of the Yangshao period in the

44 OWLETT: FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA.

Figure 2. The increasing incidence of herd animal exploitation through time from six middle Neolithic Yangshao period sites and five late Neolithic sites in the Ordos Region. Percentages are based upon MNI values, as they were comparable from the sites. Total MNI values are listed in parentheses. hwestern China into southwestern Inner Mongolia as early 22% of the pigs were culled between 18-24 months as 3500 BCE (Table 1). Challenges exist in accurately dis- (MNI=2). Kill off patterns are commonly utilized to under- tinguishing between morphologically similar bones of na- stand domestication and intentional culling practices. tive wild bovines such as wild aurochs and wild water buf- However, such small MNI values currently present within falo. Like Shihushan, pigs are secondary in importance and these assemblages limit the construction of statistically re- often make up approximately 15% of the animals exploited liable mortality profiles. at these two sites. Deer (red deer and roe deer) and other Small game is more heavily exploited in northern large game such as Mongolian gazelle were the primary Shaanxi Province during this time. Hare were the primary animals consumed at these three sites in southwestern In- animal consumed at many of these sites often comprising ner Mongolia. approximately 40% of the faunal remains. For example, at Analyses of zooarchaeological remains from two late the late Yangshao period (3500-3000 BCE) site of Yangshao period sites of Dagujie (3500-3000 BCE) and Wuzhuangguoliang, Jingbian County (Hu et al., 2005) (Fig Yangjiesha (3020 BCE-2890 BCE) in Hengshan County, 2), hares were the primary animal consumed, making up northern Shaanxi province have demonstrated that small over 46% (MNI=69) of the faunal remains. Hare are fast- scale sheep herding had possibly spread from northwestern moving small prey whose capture often requires significant China into northern Shaanxi Province as early as 3000 energetic cost (Stiner et al., 2000). They are generally sol- BCE (Table 1) (Hu et al., 2012, 2013). One sheep was iden- itary animals throughout much of the year, and it is possi- tified at both Yangjiesha (MNI=1) and Dagujie (MNI=1), ble that hunters may have encountered hares individually and it is unclear whether or not these sheep were wild or rather than in mass numbers while they travelled across the domesticated. Pigs are secondary in importance at these landscape (Hockett, 2002). In addition to a source of meat two sites and often make up approximately less than 15% and marrow, hare fur was likely vital to some foragers to of the animals exploited. Among the identified pigs, 44% produce raw materials, winter clothing, and insulation (Yi of the specimens were 4-6 months of age (MNI=4), and et al., 2013; Speth and Spielmann, 1983).

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Figure 3. Landscape near Shimao in Shenmu County, northern Shaanxi. (Photo by the author.)

In addition to small game, pigs are secondary to the diet upon herbaceous and woody plants in mixed forests and and comprised over 30% (MNI=69) of the faunal remains grasslands and would have thrived in this environment at Wuzhuangguoliang. Among the identified pigs, 61% (Chen et al. 1998). Alternatively, northern Shaanxi has a (MNI=17) of the specimens were 4-9 months of age, and generally semi-arid climate and mean annual precipitation 18% (MNI=5) of the pigs were culled between 18-24 ranges from 150-450 mm (Wu and Ci, 2002). Hare (Lepus months. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of capensis) have a higher tolerance for aridity and can adapt bone collagen from wild and domesticated animals at their diet to browse upon shrubs and short grasses (Kerley, Wuzhuangguoliang suggests that the pigs, dogs, and ro- 1990), which typify much of the landscape in northern dents consumed a diet supplemented by C4 plants, imply- Shaanxi province today (Figure 3). This ability to adapt to ing that pigs were likely being foddered or were consuming habitats with lower precipitation and thinner soils may ex- human scraps or waste (Guan et al., 2008). plain why Lepus was plentiful in northern Shaanxi Prov- ince faunal assemblages during the Yangshao period. SUMMARY The presence of sheep bones from the Shihushan site These data indicate that there was a diverse base of animals constitutes the earliest possible evidence for herd animals both hunted and herded during the Yangshao period, and in southwestern Inner Mongolia. Conversely the presence that production and consumption were largely oriented to- of sheep from the late Yangshao period sites of Yangjiesha ward locally available wild resources. Only small-scale ex- and Wuzhuangguoliang constitutes the earliest evidence ploitation of domesticated herd animals began in the Ordos for herd animals in northern Shaanxi Province. It is possi- Region at this time. In sites located in southwestern Inner ble that sheep herding spread into southwestern Inner Mon- Mongolia (Shihushan, Dabagou, Miaozigou) the earliest golia and northern Shaanxi province at different rates or economy was largely based on hunting and foraging large pathways. Sheep are believed to have been domesticated in wild game animals such as deer, and domesticated animals the Near East by approximately 8500 BCE and the progen- and small game were supplementary to the diet. In sites lo- itor of the domesticated sheep is the Asiatic mouflon (Ovis cated in northern Shaanxi province (Yangjiesha, orientalis) (Bruford and Townsend, 2006; Zeder, 2011). Wuzhuangguoliang, Dagujie) the earliest economy was Recent studies of ancient mitochondrial DNA of domestic more heavily dependent upon a pig-based economic sys- sheep from four Bronze Age sites in China indicate that tem and the consumption of small game such as hare. Deer among the three different mtDNA lineages across Eurasia did not play as significant a part of the diet in northern (lineages A-C), lineage A has the highest frequency within Shaanxi province. East Asia (Cai et al., 2007, 2011). These findings appear Rainfall and vegetation differences between southwest- consonant with current archaeological evidence for early ern Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi Province might domestication and diffusion of sheep from Eurasia into rd be reflected in the exploitation of different proportions of China. By the late 3 millennium BCE, domestic varieties local wild animals during this time. Today, southwestern of sheep/goats comprise staple foods for small groups of Inner Mongolia is located in a transitional area between early Bronze Age mobile pastoralists in the eastern central semi-humid and semi-arid climates and the vegetation is Eurasian steppe region (Anthony, 2007; Frachetti & Be- largely temperate steppe with deciduous forests. Mean an- necke, 2009). Other than Shihushan, recent studies at three nual precipitation is 423 mm per year (Xu et al., 2005). Red sites located in the Hexi Corridor (Dahezhuang, Qinweijia, deer are generally regarded as selective grazers that feed

46 OWLETT: FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA. and Donghuishan) similarly show important evidence for innovations in animal husbandry became part of a much sheep domestication (Flad et al., 2007). larger subsistence-based transformation brought on by and Cattle appear to be the next earliest herd animals uti- related to more significant societal and economic changes. lized in the Ordos Region, however they were not present Domestic plant and animal technologies became primary in this region until the late Yangshao period (ca. 3500-3000 features of late Neolithic subsistence systems, providing BCE). The presence of either wild or domesticated cattle households and communities with a steady source of food bones from the Dabagou and Miaozigou sites constitutes products throughout the year. the earliest evidence for bovine herd animals in southwest- Zooarchaeological studies and meta-analyses hold ern Inner Mongolia. It is possible that this might represent promise in understanding early agro-pastoralism in China, a stage of pre-domestication herding strategies or these but they are also currently fraught with a few methodolog- finds might be representative of wild cattle hunted by for- ical problems. Although wild taxa have been recovered at ager-gatherers. Inhabitants of this region might have exper- several middle to late Neolithic sites, there is a low re- imented with managing populations of indigenous wild au- ported MNI of such fauna. The absence of small mammals, rochs in north China long before the introduction of cattle reptiles, birds, and fish may be symptomatic of a lack of during the middle Neolithic period (Brunson, 2016). How- flotation and the use of coarse screens, which favor the re- ever, the proportion of cattle remains in the overall faunal covery of larger animals (Casteel, 1972; Payne, 1975; assemblages at these two sites remains fairly low, repre- Quitmyer, 2004). Nevertheless, it is clear that there was a senting less than 5% of identified specimens. Zooarchaeo- selective base of animals herded during the late Neolithic logical evidence indicates that domestic taurine cattle (Bos period, and that production and consumption were largely taurus) were first domesticated from wild auroch (Bos pri- oriented towards these taxa. mogenius) stocks in the Near East and South Asia (Bradley Secondly, in the Ordos Region different criteria have et al., 1998; Bradley and Magee, 2006; Cai, 2007). In gen- been utilized to identify sheep (Ovis sp.), goats (Capra sp.), eral, the use of domesticated cattle in China is thought to and caprines (sheep/goat). Domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) have begun between 2500-2000 BCE. Among the five and goats (Capra hircus) have extraordinarily similar den- most common mtDNA haplogroups of Bos taurus, haplog- tal and skeletal anatomies, and much research has at- roups T1, T2, and T3 are most common in the Near East, tempted to discover and refine the few morphological and Africa, and Europe, and haplogroup T4 is found only in metric criteria that allow them to be reliably distinguished East Asia. The earliest known domesticated cattle remains worldwide (e.g. Balasse and Ambrose, 2005; Boessneck, have been identified from the Qijia culture sites of Qinwei- 1969; Zeder and Pilaar, 2009). Therefore, zooarchaeolo- jia and Dahezhuang in Gansu province (Lu, 2010; Flad et gists working in China must also work collaboratively to al., 2007; Yu et al., 2011). standardize and integrate these identification procedures Finally, middle Neolithic Yangshao period sites in the for the identification of sheep, goat, and sheep/goat more Central Plains are largely characterized by heavy reliance thoroughly in the future. Previous summaries of domesti- on domestic pigs (Luo, 2012). However, it appears that in cated goat management and exploitation in China have the Ordos region, pig husbandry was a relatively minor identified the Erlitou site Phase IV (1750 BCE) as the first component of the diet during this time. Based on the lim- location with the substantial evidence of domestication ited ageing data available from Wuzhuangguoliang and (Yuan, J. 2010). However, it is possible that goats arrived Dagujie, management of said stock during this period in- in China much earlier, but more work is needed to specifi- volved culling of juvenile pigs between ages of 4-9 months, cally address the identification and domestic status of these and culling of adult pigs between the ages of 18-24 months possible goat samples. (Hu et al., 2005, 2012). However, there is considerable preliminary evidence for a significant reliance on domesticated herd animals at EARLY AGRO-PASTORALISM AND THE LATE several sites in this region (Owlett et al., in press; Hu et al., NEOLITHIC PERIOD 2008; Wang and Guo, 2016; Huang, 2001). Faunal assem- Animal bones recovered from excavated sites suggest that blages from late Neolithic period sites show that ovicaprids most middle Neolithic period Yangshao communities re- were the most common domesticated species during this lied heavily upon hunting large and small game and, to a period, while the numbers of cattle and domesticated pigs lesser extent, on pig husbandry. However, gradual changes also increased in importance. in economic and social organization are evident after 2500 In the following section I will review faunal data from BCE in the Ordos region. There are no zooarchaeological five sites in northern Shaanxi Province- Shimao, Zhaimao- assemblages that span from the Late Yangshao to the be- liang, Huoshiliang, Muzhuzhuliang, and one site in south- ginning of the late Neolithic (3000-2500 BCE), therefore it western Inner Mongolia- Zhukaigou Phases I-II- provide a is difficult to understand this transition from any one site. window into the nature of early agro-pastoral systems in Agro-pastoralism probably existed at a low level for many the Ordos Region as well as their evolution from the mid- years as part of diversified household strategies, well be- dle to the later Neolithic and beyond (Owlett et al., in press: fore it became an element of a larger subsistence economy. Hu et al., 2008; Wang and Guo, 2016; Huang, 2001). Re- This transformation was likely a gradual process, com- sults indicate that specialized cattle, sheep and goat herding mencing in the preceding Yangshao period and continuing was dominant in the subsistence economy while little hunt- past the end of the late Neolithic. Eventually, small-scale ing was practiced. Although detailed information on this

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segment of the Ordos Region prehistory is not abundant, of the MNI, pigs compose 11% (MNI=11), and wild ani- available data reveal a succession of cultural transfor- mals only constitute approximately 5% of the MNI (Wang mations within the Neolithic period. These transformations and Guo, 2016). Although the faunal remains from this site seem to have been fostered by both environmental and so- indicate an overwhelmingly pastoral food economy, the cial change, and possibly by population movement. stable nitrogen isotope results from seven human remains 15 The site of Huoshiliang (ca. 2150- 1900 BCE) in north- (δ N= 7.8-9.5) indicate these individuals consumed a diet only moderately reliant on animal protein (Chen et al., ern Shaanxi Province is the earliest known Late Neolithic 2015). site in the Ordos Region that has yielded evidence of how Finally, excavations at Phase I and II at the Zhukaigou and when early agropastoralism was brought to this region site in southwestern Inner Mongolia (3000-1900 BCE) (Fig. 1; Table 1). Eighty-three percent of the assemblage have revealed a similar large-scale reliance upon pig represents the remains of domestic taxa. Only 21 speci- (MNI= 27), sheep (MNI=32), and cattle (MNI=14) during mens attributable to wild taxa were identified. The large the Late Neolithic period (Liu and Chen, 2012: 228-229). quantity of goat remains at the site (MNI=46) far surpasses These three taxa remain dominant species of the site that of sheep. The presence of goat bones from this site throughout the occupation, however pig becomes the most constitutes the earliest evidence for goats in this entire re- abundant during Phase II (Huang et al. 1996). gion (Hu et al., 2008; Liu and Chen, 2012: 228-229). Stable The discussion of animal husbandry must also consider carbon isotope analysis (δ13C) on sheep from the Huoshili- plant cultivation, as the two were most likely practiced to- ang site suggests that millet formed a large proportion of gether in a small-scale but intensive system close to settle- the diet and was possibly being provided as fodder by in- ments. Detailed multi-site archaeobotanical studies are habitants (Dodson et al., 2014). lacking for many of the middle to late Neolithic sites in the Shimao is a 400 hectare walled site, located in Shenmu region. However, the current knowledge of plant utilization County in Northern Shaanxi Province The site dates from in this region will be summarized below. Residue remains 2350-1800 BCE and consists of a stone-walled settlement, and usewear patterns on sandstone grinding stone tools un- dense residential areas, craft workshops and cemeteries earthed from the Shihushan I and Shihushan II sites, dating (Shaanxi et al., 2013). Faunal analysis of these remains to the mid-5th millennium BCE have shown that early identified at least 15 species, including alligator, pheasant, Yangshao Period inhabitants in the Daihai possibly man- sewer rat, chinese zokor, gansu zokor, rabbit, dog, horse, aged a wide range of plants, including various underground domesticated pig, goat, sheep, and cattle (Hu et al., 2016; storage organs (USO) such as tubers, roots, rhizomes, and Owlett et al., in press). Domesticated animals were the pri- bulbs (Liu et al., 2014). In addition to foraging for nuts, and mary animal consumed at the site and composed over 95% wild grasses, inhabitants engaged in a limited level of mil- (MNI) of the faunal remains. Wild animals make up a small let production. Phytolith analysis from the late Yangshao proportion of the diet and composed approximately 5% of 87 86 to late Neolithic period site of Wangmushan demonstrates the MNI. The Sr/ Sr results from late Neolithic animal that different species of millet became the staple food crops teeth from this site show that there is no significant varia- cultivated during the late Yangshao Period. Broomcorn bility in values. These isotope data suggest that animal hus- millet (P. miliaceum) was the most numerous species iden- bandry during the Late Neolithic was rather localized, and tified followed by foxtail millet (S. italica) (Xia et al., that pigs, sheep, and cattle often lived their whole lives 2015). Seeds from three late Neolithic sites from this re- close to the place where they were raised (Zhao et al., gion demonstrate that subsistence was based on intensive 2016). agriculture focused upon both broomcorn and foxtail mil- Zhaimaoliang is located 20 km south of Shimao on the let. At the sites of Muzhuzhuliang, Shengedaling (Wang Kaiguangchuan River, a branch of the Tuwei River. The and Guo, 2016), along with Zhaimaoliang (Gao et al., site was discovered in 1988 and excavated between 2014 2016), millet often composes more than 50% of the floata- and 2015 by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeol- tion remains. Other important wild plants included Cheno- ogy. Faunal analysis identified 12 species (MNI=33), in- podium album, Leguminosae sp., or wild grasses which are cluding racoon dog, pheasant, brown rat, gazelle, hare, commonly found in lesser amounts in archaeobotanical as- freshwater shellfish, domesticated dog, pig, goat, sheep, semblages during this time period (Gao et al., 2016). Along and cattle (Owlett et al., in press; Sun, 2016). Domesticated with remaining millet husks and stalks, these plants might animals were the primary animal consumed at the site and have been important sources of animal fodder for pastoral composed over 69% (MNI=23) of the faunal remains. Wild animals living in or around settlements. animals made up a smaller proportion of the diet and composed approximately 30% of the remains (MNI=10). DISCUSSION At the site of Muzhuzhuliang excavators discovered an A number of issues have been raised in this paper that I will enclosed moat, 52 house foundations, 222 ash pits, as well now discuss in more detail. These include the circum- as eight burials and ceramics kilns dated to the Late Neo- stances and early dates for animal husbandry in the Yang- lithic period (Sun, 2016). Faunal specimens reported from shao Period, along with the cultural and environmental cir- the site represent a minimum of 97 individuals. Domestic cumstances for the adoption of large-scale pastoralism in herd animals such as cattle, sheep and goat make up 77% the late Neolithic period in the Ordos Region. The increasingly smaller proportions of wild fauna present at many

48 OWLETT: FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA. late Neolithic to early Bronze Age sites from the Ordos Re- (Flannery, 1969; Zeder, 2012). When Yangshao people be- gion (ca. 2500 to 1800 BCE) shed light on the changes in gan to hunt in larger more cohesive groups, increased hunt- agro-pastoralism. The diversification of agricultural pro- ing pressure may have led to resource scarcity. This expla- duction and the use of both wild and domesticated animals nation, however, relies on cultural determinism and a likely accompanied changing logistics, understandings, strictly evolutionary framework leaving little room for and cultural valuations that can be linked to emerging so- agency for individuals in the past. Another possible cul- cial differences during this time period. While summariz- tural reason for the development of large-scale agro-pasto- ing the evidence presented above, I will also discuss some ralism is that these animals represented a type of wealth of the implications of these issues. (Brunson et al., 2015; Evans-Pritchard, 1940). Domestic The intensive exploitation of these herd animals during animals can represent a transportable resource of wealth, in the late Neolithic may have been related to an adaptation either live animals or through meat, milk, and fiber (Lem- to the environment. Expansions and contractions in animal monier, 1993; Russell, 1998). husbandry may co-vary with environmental fluctuations, Given current evidence, it is difficult to say whether as individuals must attempt to balance food production caprine and cattle arrived as a result of population move- strategies with the shifting availability of wild resources ment or possibly through the diffusion, imitation, or inno- (Marston, 2011). As a result of emerging paleoclimatic re- vation of ideas and technology across time and space. One search, some generalizations can be made about the cli- popular explanation for the spread of agro-pastoralism to matic and vegetation history of this period. Proxy-based the Ordos Region, and the Northern Zone more broadly, climate reconstructions based upon pollen profiles from has been a large scale migration of individuals who arrived Daihai Lake, southwestern Inner Mongolia and paleosol with a Neolithic package of wheat, sheep, and bronze into layers from the Mu Us Desert in northern Shaanxi province already settled farming communities (Zhao, 2009). The (Miao et al., 2016; Xiao, J. et al., 2004) demonstrate that lack of in-depth archaeological evidence from contempo- the climate was warm and dry during the early Holocene rary sites in surrounding regions such as Ningxia and Qing- (ca. 11.5–8.1 cal ka BP), warm and wet during the middle hai to the west and the Gobi Desert to the North make it Holocene (ca. 8.1–3.3 cal ka BP), and cooler and drier in difficult to substantiate this conclusion. Additionally, the the late Holocene (ca. 3.3–0 cal ka BP). Pollen from Daihai current limited evidence from Yangshao period sites in Lake demonstrates that the period between ca. 7900 and southwestern Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi prov- 4450 cal yr BP exhibits large-scale covers of mixed conif- ince suggest that it is possible that caprine and cattle herd- erous and broadleaved forests, marking a warm and humid ing spread into southwestern Inner Mongolia and northern climate. During this time, the proportion of steppe vegeta- Shaanxi province at slow gradual rates and were rapidly tion such as Artemisia and arid/halophilic Chenopodiaceae adopted in northern Shaanxi province during the late Neo- expanded and replaced forest taxa. lithic period. Finally, the presence of a shared material cul- The increased importance of caprines and cattle during ture across the Ordos Region makes it easy to argue that the late Neolithic may be related to this documented expan- agro-pastoralist economies spread across the Ordos Region sion of arable grassland that began at this time in the Ordos as one or as a series of discrete migration or diffusion pro- Region. Herding strategies were likely adjusted so that the cesses. These include the presence of similar pottery styles, number of livestock increased in accordance with the avail- agricultural stone tools, and a heavy reliance on millet cul- ability of forage. Herd upkeep and production are depend- tivation (Liu et al., 2016). More research is needed before ent on the composition of the animal diet, and one of the these questions can be fully answered. major challenges herders regularly confront is maintaining access to grazing areas of sufficient nutritional quality for CONCLUSIONS their animals (Makarewicz, 2014). Historically, Chinese This paper uses the data generated from zooarchaeological pastoralist populations have moved to obtain forage and analysis to investigate the beginning of agro-pastoralism in water for their herds and to take advantage of differences the Ordos Region. Zooarchaeological assemblages from in local topography, rainfall patterns, and vegetation middle to late Neolithic sites dating from 3,500 to 1800 cal (Cincotta, RP. et al. 1991; Goldstein, 2012; Lattimore, BCE provide a broad picture showing how the transition to 1962). However, the role of seasonal transhumance in ani- agro-pastoralism may have taken place in this region. It mal husbandry practices in the late Neolithic in the Ordos was during the late Neolithic period that patterns of animal Region is less clear. Herd animals were likely seasonally exploitation shifted from hunting to controlled herd man- moving across the landscape in order to find distinctly suit- agement and animal husbandry in the Ordos Region. able regions with rich plant fodder and water sources The above sketch remains speculative and begs many (Spengler et al., 2013). This hypothesis needs to be tested additional research questions. Future analysis should be di- with more data in the future. rected toward exploring the relationships between social The cultural and ecological reasons for the develop- transformations documented throughout the middle to late ment of large-scale agro-pastoralism are still unclear, but Neolithic and more detailed assessments of consumption the following scenarios have been presented for other parts and production strategies. Furthermore, it will be important of the world. The over-exploitation of wild resources by to investigate how local patterns of land use are differenti- small-scale hunter-gatherers of the Yangshao Period may ated spatially and temporally through excavation, survey, have caused them to exploit a wider range of resources and specialized botanical, faunal, and geoarchaeological

49 JOURNAL OF INDO-PACIFIC ARCHAEOLOGY 40 (2016)

analyses. Studies on the broader cultural and ecological Cai, D., Lu, H., X.L. Zhang, H. Zhou, and H. Zhu. 2007. DNA contexts of these issues will help to explain the spread of analysis of archaeological sheep remains from China. Jour- pastoralism in the Ordos Region of China. nal of Archaeological Science 34: 347-55. Cai, D. Z. Yang, H. Yu, L. Han, X. Ren, X. Zhao, H. Zhu, and H. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Zhou 2011. Early history of Chinese domestic sheep indi- cated by ancient DNA analysis of Bronze Age individuals. Financial support for this study was provided by the Con- Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 896-902. fucius China Joint Ph.D Scholarship (Confucius Institute- Capriles, J. and Tripcevich, N. eds. 2016. The Archaeology of American IIE) and by the Sir Robert Ho Tung Fellowship, Andean Pastoralism. Albuquerque: University of New Stanford University. Thank you to Kristina G. Douglass, Mexico Press. Habeom Kim, and Michael Zellmann-Rohrer for critical Campbell, R., Z. Li, Y. He, and Y. Jing. 2014. Consumption, Ex- comments on earlier drafts of this article. Two anonymous change, and Production at the Great Settlement Shang: reviewers provided their constructive and very thorough Bone-Working at Tiesanlu, Anyang. Antiquity 85: 1279- comments on previous versions of this manuscript. Any re- 1297. sponsibility for errors or opinions remains with the author Casteel, R.W. 1972. Some biases in the recovery of archaeologi- alone. cal faunal remains. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 38: 382-388. REFERENCES Chang C. and H.A. Koster.1986. Beyond bones: toward an ar- Anthony, D.W. 2007. The horse, the wheel, and language. Prince- chaeology of pastoralism. In Advances in Archaeological ton (NJ): Princeton University Press. Method and Theory, ed. MB Shiffer, 9:97–148. New York: Academic. Arbuckle, B. 2012. Pastoralism, provisioning, and power at Bronze Age Acemhöyük, Turkey. American Anthropolo- Chen, X.L., Guo, X.D., Hu, Y.W., Wang, W.L., and C.S. 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