Diet and Cultural Transition in Sixth Century ad China: New Isotopic Studies on Multiple Elite and Commoner Individuals in the Chang'an Region

Abstract

Scientific archaeology has drawn new attention to the agricultural and pastoral interactions of medieval China and their impact upon Han and non-Han groups. The aim of this research is to introduce a number of key new stable isotope data pointing to ancient diet, offering a new perspective on the “sinicization” debate in medieval China. While generational shifts between primarily pastoral and agricultural diets occurred prior to the sixth century ad, by Northern Zhou and Sui times, a vastly more complex range of dietary possibilities was practiced. We found that the dietary habit of Yang Yong, the Crown Prince of the Sui Dynasty, was similar to that of the Han nobility from the late Northern Wei to the Sui Dynasty in northern China. We argue for considering the role of (1) new cultural foodways in shaping elite practices and (2) dietary stability and change reflected elite political fortunes and decision-making processes in the political core area of medieval China during the sixth century ad.