Diversification in subsistence pattern of animal resources in the Hengduan Mountains: Multi-isotopic evidence of Yingpanshan and Guijiabao site (5300–4000 cal. BP), China

Abstract

The Hengduan Mountains are located on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where farmers began to settle 6000 years ago. Animal husbandry plays a significant role in the sustenance economies of agricultural civilizations. It is unclear how Neolithic people acquired animal resources in the Hengduan Mountains. We explore animal geographical origins and feeding practices using the strontium, carbon, and oxygen isotope composition of tooth enamel at the Guijiabao and Yingpanshan sites during the Neolithic Age in the Hengduan Mountains. Multi-isotopic evidence demonstrates that animals originate from several different regions with diverse foods. Guijiabao domestic dogs and pigs with a mixed C₃/C₄ diet share a similarly broad dietary spectrum with humans as enclosed animals, but the other pigs are wild boars with a C₃ diet, likely free-range animals or directly captured as meat resources. Yingpanshan dogs and pigs are both domestic animals with a mixed C₃/C₄ or C₄-based diet, but pigs with different ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are likely raised by dispersed feeding modes. The inhabitants had diverse approaches for obtaining animal resources, including husbandry, hunting, and exchange. Diverse animal subsistence patterns are closely related to the complex geographical environment, reflecting the adaptation of farmers living in the high mountain valley regions.