Late Western Zhou animal resource exploitation in the Jianghuai Region as seen from the Wawuying site (ca. 877–770 BC)

Abstract

From February to July 2019, entrusted by the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Frontier Archaeology Research Center of Jilin University together with the Anhui Provincial Administration of Cultural Affairs formed a joint archaeological team to conduct field archaeological excavations at the Wawuying site in the Hefei City region of Anhui. A total of 11 pieces of mammal bone and 280 pieces of mollusk shell were unearthed from the site, as well as one bone hairpin. Identified mammals are sika deer (Cervus nippon) and horse (Equus caballus), while the mollusk shells belong to the large, freshwater snail (Cipangopaludina cathayensis). Stratigraphy and the cultural assemblage indicate that the Wawuying site dates roughly to the late Western Zhou to the early Eastern Zhou dynastic period (roughly 877–770 BC). Through the study of the animal remains excavated from the Wawuying site, we can further understand the utilization of animal resources by ancient humans in the Jianghuai region of China.