Millet cultivation strategies and changing agropastoral economies in ancient Chifeng, northeast China, 4000–1800 BP

Abstract

This study explores the diachronic changes in labor organizations in the Chifeng region in the context of changing subsistence strategies between 4000 and 1000 BP. We use nitrogen isotope values (δ¹⁵N) of archaeologically recovered grains to inform soil preparations such as manuring or farmyard middening. Our results show a decrease in plant δ¹⁵N values from the Upper Xiajiadian period (UXJD) to the Warring States-Han period (WS-H), suggesting a decrease in per area labor input in manuring activities. This trend may be attributed to several factors, including population growth that necessitated the expansion of cultivation into marginal environments, the increasingly specialized agropastoral systems that spatially separated herding and farming sectors, and labor allocation constraints within such settings. They raise questions about the dynamic interplay between agricultural intensity, demographic pressure, and the compartmentalization of labor in ancient economies.