Geographic Mosaics of Domesticated Pig Exploitation in the Late Neolithic Lower Yangtze River From a Stable Isotope Perspective

Abstract

Pig domestication represents a pivotal development in Holocene human societies, and domesticated pig exploitation, in particular, has attracted widespread discussions. The lower Yangtze River region is recognized as one of the significant centers for the earliest domestication and use of domesticated pigs in China. However, the regional trajectory of domesticated pig exploitation during the late Neolithic period in this region remains unclear. In this case study, we utilized stable isotope evidence from pig bones recovered at the Jiangjiashan and Weidun sites during the late Majiabang culture in the Taihu Lake region and the Tianluoshan site of Hemudu culture in the Ningshao Plain. Our study reveals that pig δ¹⁵N values at each of the three sites exhibit a wide range of variation, indicating differences in their food sources. When combined with the zooarchaeological evidence, this phenomenon is suggested to be associated with the emergence of domestic pig management. Through systematic analysis of pig diets in the late Neolithic lower Yangtze River region, contrasting diachronic shifts in pig diets are exhibited between Tiahu Lake region and Ningshao Plain. In the Taihu Lake region, a diachronic shift from a wild boar foraging ecology to intensified human feeding management is evidenced by a significant increase in mean δ¹⁵N values and an initial expansion followed by a contraction in δ¹⁵N value variability from the early Majiabang to the Songze period, indicating the emergence and progressive management of domestic pigs through increased provisioning of human food waste. In contrast, pigs on the Ningshao Plain during the Hemudu culture (Phases I–III) exhibited no significant diachronic changes in dietary structure, as evidenced by stable mean δ¹⁵N values along with a progressively narrowing δ¹⁵N range, indicating that human management of pig feeding was not intensified over time. Combining zooarchaeological and isotopic evidence, a geographic mosaic pattern of domesticated pig exploitation among different regions is revealed for the late Neolithic period of the lower Yangtze region. A diachronic intensification of domesticated pig exploitation is observed in the Taihu Lake area during the Majiabang and Songze culture periods (7000–5300 bp), whereas such a trend is absent in the Ningshao Plain within the Hemudu culture Phases I–III (7000–5700 bp). We propose that these divergent pathways resulted from the interplay of local environmental conditions, agricultural development, and demographic pressure.