The formation of the agro-pastoral zone in northern China from a global perspective

-- A case study of zooarchaeology in Yulin, Shaanxi Province around 3,000 yr BP  

Hu Songmei, chief expert of the “Multidisciplinary Study on the Subsistence Patterns and Environment in Yulin, Shaanxi Province during 3,000~2,000 yr BP”, a major project supported by China’s National Social Science Foundation, and research fellow with the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology

In the Yulin area of northern Shaanxi Province, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and other regions of China, beef and mutton as well as woolen sweaters and blankets are known for their unique qualities. These special diets and daily necessities distributed in the agro-pastoral zone are inseparable from herbivores, such as cattle and sheep. When did cattle and sheep, which are closely related to our daily lives, appear in this area and become our food? Were the earliest cattle and sheep domesticated by the Chinese? If not, where did they come from? When and how did they get to these places?

The Yulin area of northern Shaanxi is a typical agro-pastoral zone in China. The climate and vegetation of the agro-pastoral zone provide a reliable prerequisite for large-scale breeding of cattle and sheep. In the past ten years, with the construction of oil pipelines, highways and reservoirs and the further development of research on the origin of civilization in this area, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and the Yulin Municipal Exploration Team of Cultural Relics and Archaeology have jointly excavated over 30 Neolithic sites, and initially established a relatively complete sequence of cultural development in Yulin area from 5,000 to 4,000 years ago. From the sharp-bottom bottle system in the late Yangshao period (5,000-4,500 years ago) to the Miao system in the early Longshan period (Miao Er culture) (4,500-4,300 years ago) to the Li system in the late Longshan period (4,300-3,800 years ago), according to the evolution of pottery, each period can be further divided into two stages - early and late, or three stages - early, middle and late. At each site, a comprehensive collection of human bones, animal and plant data has provided first-hand original basic materials for scientific research on the continuous changes in the area’s subsistence patterns.

Distribution and characteristics of agro-pastoral zones in northern China

The boundary between agricultural and pastoral zones in China is roughly equivalent to the contour line of annual precipitation of 400 millimeters. To its east and south are mainly agricultural areas, and to its west and north are mainly pastoral areas. Between the two regions, there is an agro-pastoral ecotone spreading along the northeast-southwest direction, with spatial coexistence of agriculture and animal husbandry, and temporal alternation between agriculture and animal husbandry. Starting from Hulunbuir at the western foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains in the north, it extends to the southwest, passes through southeastern Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, and northern Shanxi to reach Ordos in Inner Mongolia and the Yulin area in northern Shaanxi.

China’s agro-pastoral ecotone is a semi-arid ecological transition zone, located on the edge of the East Asian monsoon zone, with a fragile ecological environment, obvious fluctuations in dryness and wetness, and frequent boundary fluctuations. The Yulin area of northern Shaanxi Province is located in the agro-pastoral area in China’s immediate neighboring arc. To its northwest is the Eurasian prairie pastoral area, to its southeast is the farming area. It is located in an area sensitive to changes in climate, environment and subsistence patterns.

We restored the livelihood characteristics of the ancestors of the region in various periods through the changes in animal species, the number and percentage of their bones in many archaeological sites in Yulin area around 3,000 yr BP.

Formation of the agro-pastoral zone in northern China

The agro-pastoral transition zone was formed with the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry. In China, the formation of northern millet-farming economy was much earlier than animal husbandry, and it originated in the Neolithic age about 10,000 years ago. With the emergence of herbivores, such as cattle, sheep and horses, animal husbandry came into being.

Whenever there are environmental fluctuations in the world or a certain area, the changes in temperature, precipitation and other factors first occur at the edge of the natural belt. These factors will cause corresponding changes in vegetation, animal species and soil, and in turn affect the transformation of the way humans live and produce. There is a mutual relationship between humans and the environment. The relatively favorable climate provides a stage for human activities, but large-scale human activities will also have an impact on the environment. The productivity of primitive society was low, and human beings would maximize the use of various natural resources provided by nature for their livelihoods. When the climate is warm and there is plenty of rain, it is suitable for the cultivation of crops and the raising of domestic pigs; when the climate becomes dry and cold, the natural forage is mainly used for grazing to raise livestock, such as cattle, sheep and horses.

Through animal archaeological studies on a series of sites from the early stage to the late stage, we found that the bones unearthed from the three sites of the first and second phases of the Wuzhuang Guoyan in Jingbian, Hengshan Dagujie and Yangjiesha in the late Yangshao period mainly belong to wild animals, respectively accounting for 66%, 90% and 56% of the corresponding collections. The wild animals are mainly grass rabbits, roe deer, ring-necked pheasants, etc. The proportion of domestic animals is generally less than 40%, mainly pigs, followed by dogs. There are no identifiable sheep or cattle. The food for pigs and dogs mainly comes from food related to millet-farming production, such as bran and leftover grains. At the Hengshan Jiadamao and the second phase of Miaoliang in Jingbian in the early Longshan period, cattle and sheep began to appear, but their numbers were small, and animal husbandry began to take shape. At that time, the subsistence pattern was still dominated by agriculture and supplemented by animal husbandry, hunting and gathering.

At the Shimao and Muzhuzhuliang sites in Shenmu County and Huoshiliang sites in Yulin area in the late Longshan period and early Xia Dynasty, there were a large number of animal bones, and the number of livestock generally surpassed 80%, mainly domestic animals, such as sheep and goats, cattle and pigs. Compared with the late Yangshao period when pigs and dogs were dominant domestic animals, significant changes had taken place, sheep and cattle accounted for more than 60% of the total. In this period, compared with the late Yangshao period, new domestic animals included sheep, goats and cattle; compared with the early period of Longshan, goats were added, and the proportion of goats was quite high, indicating that the livestock economy was playing a major role. Through the changes in the main animal genera and species and the percentage of each animal from the early to late periods, it can be seen that the proportion of the livestock economy in the Longshan era was gradually increasing, and the agricultural economy was relatively weakened. In a dynamic process of waxing and waning, an agro-pastoral ecotone emerged. The livestock economy gradually developed from its infancy stage in the early Longshan period to the mature stage in the late Longshan period.

Based on the animal archaeological data from 5,000 to 4,000 years ago in the Yulin area of northern Shaanxi that have been published and are being compiled, the bones of cattle and sheep unearthed from the Hengshan Jiadamao and Jingbian Miaoliang Phase II sites in the early Longshan period should be the earliest and largest in number in China, marking the emergence of the grassland animal husbandry economy in the region. The production characteristics of the agro-pastoral zone in the immediate neighboring arc of China today may be traced back to the early days of the Longshan period around 4,500-4,300 years ago. The goats unearthed at Muzhuzhuliang and Shimao sites are the earliest goats with dating data, about 4,000 years ago. The new livestock economy, such as the emergence and breeding of sheep, goats and cattle in large numbers, has laid a solid material and economic foundation for the rapid development and strengthening of the super-large settlement of Shimao culture in Shenmu County and the progress of human civilization.

The spread of cattle and sheep and the development of animal husbandry in China

Based on current DNA results, sheep and cattle were not first domesticated in China, and their origins and transmission processes were similar and different. Both of them originated in West Asia about 10,000 years ago, and were introduced to China about 4,500 years ago, but their transmission routes might be slightly different. Since being domesticated in West Asia, the sheep began to spread eastward through the Eurasian grasslands, reaching the Mongolian plateau, and then diverged, partly spreading southward along Ruoshui (Heihe River) to reach the Hexi Corridor, and partly spreading eastward to reach the Hetao region of China. Then there was a 90-degree turn, starting from north to south, and spreading south to the Central Plains through the north-south valley channel. This may help us understand the phenomenon of early sheep and cattle remains in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River around 4,500 years ago. Based on the discoveries in the Yulin area of northern Shaanxi, the sheep and cattle in this area appeared earlier than, or at the same as in the Hexi Corridor. However, cattle had two independent centers of origin. There might be two routes into China. One was basically the same as that of sheep. The other spread eastward from South Asia and entered Yunnan Province through the Indus River, and then spread northward to the Yellow River Basin and other parts of China.

The acceptance and development of new factors of production spread to an area depends on the local climate conditions and vegetation. Due to its dry climate and low temperature, the Yulin area of northern Shaanxi has always been planting millet, quinoa and other miscellaneous grains that adapt to drought since the Neolithic period. Plant archaeological studies have shown that the high-quality forages such as Artemisia frigida, Sweet Clover, and Lespedeza in the vegetation of the late Longshan period provided sufficient materials for the development of livestock economy.

During the Longshan-culture period in Yulin of northern Shaanxi, high-quality forages allowed local residents to accept sheep, goats and cattle from the west, and quickly developed a livestock economy that dominated the local production, which exerted a profound impact on the economy, society and culture of Yulin and surrounding areas. To this day, this area still features a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral economy, and animal husbandry has become a pillar industry, which has promoted the development of the local economy, society and culture.

Guangming Daily (July 29, 2020, Page 16)