农业区游牧民族饮食文化的滞后性——基于大同东信广场北魏墓群人骨的稳定同位素研究

不同地域的人群具有不同的饮食传统和饮食文化。然而,当人们持续不断的直接或间接接触时,一方或双方原有的饮食文化将会产生变化,如拓跋鲜卑的饮食文化就经历了从游牧向农业的转变。本文对山西大同东信广场北魏墓群26例人骨进行了C、N稳定同位素分析,结果 (δ~(13)C值为-11.5±2.7‰,n=26;δ~(15)N值为9.8±1.2‰,n=26)显示,先民的食物类型差异较大,并包含大量的肉食资源。研究表明,以C_3类食物为主的先民主要放牧或狩猎,以C_4类食物为主的先民主要以种植粟、黍等C_4型农作物喂养家畜。大同东信广场北魏墓群人群中两种不同饮食传统的存在,显示游牧民族新的饮食习惯(以粟作农业产品为食)的形成滞后性于北魏政权的建立,这可能与气候变冷及他们的排斥有关。

A study on the cultural lag of diet of nomads in the farming area: Based on thestable isotopic analysis of human bones from the Northern Wei Cemetery inDongxin Square,Datong, Shanxi Province

People from different geographical regions can have distinctive food cultures and traditions. In the face of direct interaction with sedentary agriculturalists, Tuoba Xianbei (nomadic pastoralists) alter their dietary preferences over the course of time, i.e., from the nomadic life to agricultural life. Here we present carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio results from 26 individuals from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386~534 AD) cemetery in Dongxin Square, Datong, Shanxi Province, China. The δ13C (-11.5±2.7‰, n=26) and δ15N (9.8±1.2‰, n=26) results show a mixture of C3 and C4 diets with the consumption of significant amounts of protein from animals. Individuals consuming C3 diets had lives centered on grazing and/or hunting, whereas individuals consuming C4 diets made their living mainly by millet agriculture. These two types of diet analysed in the Northern Wei Dynasty cemetery suggest that there was a cultural lag in the adoption of millet agriculture, a new food culture, of the Tuoba Xianbei regime. The cultural lag may be related to climate change, as the climate became cold and dry during this period, or alternatively to the fact that the rulers and some of the population did not prefer to change their diet.