Domestic pig husbandry strategy during the Shuangdun Culture period (ca. 7300–6800 BP) from the stable isotopic perspective: A case study of the Yuhuicun site in Anhui Province, China

Abstract

Shuangdun Culture, spanning from about 7300 to 6800 BP, was primarily distributed along the middle Huai River valley. This study aimed to elucidate the domestic pig husbandry strategy of Shuangdun Culture using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes on animal bones from the Yuhuicun site. The results revealed that most of the Sus, displaying δ¹³C values from −20.5 to −17.1‰, had diets based on C₃ plants, comparable to the diets of large and middle-sized deer whose δ¹³C values ranged from −20.7 to −18.1‰. Previous zooarchaeological investigations have suggested that domestic pigs were predominant among the faunal assemblage of the Yuhuicun site, with few wild boars and feral pigs present. However, the present study found no significant differences regarding the diet among the Sus population. Domestic pigs at Yuhuicun were inferred to be reared loosely and fed with wild plants, given that the human inhabitants primarily relied on gathering, with rice cultivation being small in scale. A comparison of pig husbandry strategies among the Yuhuicun, Houjiazhai, and Shuangdun sites revealed that most Sus from these three archaeological sites had similar diets. However, three Sus individuals with mixed diets of C₃ and C₄ plants were identified from the Shuangdun site, which may have been introduced from an outside area where millets were widely planted. The Shuangdun site is a central settlement in the middle Huai River valley, and its inhabitants likely had access to introduced food sources. This differentiation in the diet of domestic pigs is indicative of varying settlement patterns during this time period.