新石器时代关中地区人类生业模式演变的生物考古学证据

农业的起源与发展,改变了人类食物资源的获取方式。作为史前文化发展的中心,关中地区史前人类生业模式演变规律与影响因素的探索,将为北方地区农业的起源、发展与传播,文化交流对农业发展的影响,人类对环境变迁的适应等热点问题研究提供重要依据。本文对关中地区史前不同文化、不同遗址人与动物骨骼的稳定同位素以及动植物遗存进行了综合分析。结果显示,受文化的发展与交流、区域地理环境的差异、气候的演变等因素影响,关中地区史前先民生业模式呈现时空差异。老官台文化先民的生业模式中旱作农业与狩猎采集并重。仰韶文化早期,旱作农业成为先民生业模式的主体,但不同区域发展水平不同;另外,家畜饲养的发展速度要滞后于农作物。仰韶文化中、晚期至龙山文化早期,水稻与小麦先后传入,形成以粟、黍旱作农业为主,兼营水稻、大豆等的多元化农业结构;水稻对仰韶文化中期先民的食谱产生影响,而同时期家畜饲养主要依赖于粟黍类农作物。龙山文化,黍、粟农业比重下降,水稻含量相对增加,并对先民与家畜的食谱产生影响;肉食获取方式以饲养活动为主,渔猎活动为辅。     

河南鹿台遗址炭化植物遗存揭示的新石器时代晚期的人类生计活动

鹿台遗址出土了丰富的炭化植物遗存,作物组合显示仰韶时期农业经济是单纯的种植粟黍的旱作农业,龙山时期农作物新品种开始出现,作物种植结构趋于多样化。基于龙山时期成熟粟类作物和不成熟粟类作物的量化分析,鹿台遗址龙山时期聚落很可能存在作物加工活动,不同阶段的加工活动可能是在聚落内不同区域,以小规模的核心家庭为基础开展。综合相关研究,豫北地区仰韶时期仍是单一的种植小米的旱作农业经济,稻作农业并未影响到这一区域,龙山时期水稻、大豆和小麦等新农作物开始出现,农业多样化逐渐显现。与此同时,豫北地区龙山时期不同遗址在农作物种植结构方面存在些许差异,这一差异很可能与遗址微观地貌、聚落和特定人群的主观选择有关。鹿台遗址炭化植物遗存研究深化了对中原地区新石器时代晚期环境、生业与社会关系的认识。     

A wet and dry story: distinguishing rice and millet arable systems using phytoliths

Changing rice and millet arable systems were closely linked to social and environmental changes in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Central China. Two methods are used here to distinguish between rainfed millet farming and rice farming, using phytoliths from crop weeds found in ash middens and mixed cultural layer contexts. Samples were taken from three sites, Xipo and Huizui, in the Yellow River Valley in Henan, and Baligang which is situated towards the south of the province. The samples are from three cultural phases, Yangshao, Longshan and Erlitou. The phytoliths used are from grass leaves, so are not identified to genera or species but rather grouped into ecological categories, and canonical correspondence analysis was applied. Next, the ratios were calculated of phytolith morphotypes from cells that are genetically predisposed to form phytoliths (fixed), compared to silica bodies from cells that will form silica bodies when there is sufficient water uptake (sensitive). The results show differentiation between millet and rice and differences in how wet the rice fields were. The region experienced social and climate change throughout this time and this is reflected in the results.     

与中国的家猪早期畜养有关的若干问题

<正> 猪在中国的饲养有着悠久的历史。它素有“六畜”之一的称号。我国人民关心家猪在中国的起源和培育的问题。在我国,猪的畜养不但可以追溯到有文字历史的早期;更早,在我国各地新石器时代遗址中,猪的骨骼也是屡见不鲜的。据作者不完全的了解和经手的兽骨来看,猪可说是我国新石器时代遗址动物群中最常见的一种动物。例如:辽宁旅顺郭家屯遗址,大连遗址,内蒙古宁城遗址,赤峰夏家店和药王庙遗址,山东大汶口遗址,曲阜西夏侯遗址,陕西沣西遗址,西安半坡遗址,河南淅川遗址,江苏邳县刘林遗址,吴江梅堰遗址,南京北阴阳营遗     

Macro-Process of Past Plant Subsistence from the Upper Paleolithic to Middle Neolithic in China: A Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Archaeobotanical Data

Detailed studies of the long-term development of plant use strategies indicate that plant subsistence patterns have noticeably changed since the Upper Paleolithic, when humans underwent a transitional process from foraging to agriculture. This transition was best recorded in west Asia; however, information about how plant subsistence changed during this transition remains limited in China. This lack of information is mainly due to a limited availability of sufficiently large, quantified archaeobotanical datasets and a paucity of related synthetic analyses. Here, we present a compilation of extensive archaeobotanical data derived from interdisciplinary approaches, and use quantitative analysis methods to reconstruct past plant use from the Upper Paleolithic to Middle Neolithic in China. Our results show that intentional exploitation for certain targeted plants, particularly grass seeds, may be traced back to about 30,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic. Subsequently, the gathering of wild plants dominated the subsistence system; however, this practice gradually diminished in dominance until about 6~5 ka cal BP during the Middle Neolithic. At this point, farming based on the domestication of cereals became the major subsistence practice. Interestingly, differences in plant use strategies were detected between north and south China, with respect to (1) the proportion of certain plant taxa in assemblages, (2) the domestication rate of cereals, and (3) the type of plant subsistence practiced after the establishment of full farming. In conclusion, the transition from foraging to rice and millet agriculture in China was a slow and long-term process spanning 10s of 1000s of years, which may be analogous to the developmental paths of wheat and barley farming in west Asia.     

Crop husbandry activities and wild plant gathering,use and consumption at the EPPNB Tell Qarassa North (south Syria)

The Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (EPPNB) in southwest Asia is a fundamental period in research on the origins of domesticated plants. However, there are few archaeobotanical data with which to characterise the plant-based subsistence and crop husbandry activities during this time, which hinders the understanding of the factors that triggered the appearance of plant domestication. In this paper, analyses of non-woody plant macro-remains provide new insights into subsistence activities such as crop cultivation (husbandry activities and storage) and plant use (wild plant gathering and food preparation) during the EPPNB at Tell Qarassa North (south Syria). We make comparisons between Tell Qarassa North and the evidence at earlier and later periods as to how plants were used, and highlight similarities and differences in the practices attested, as well as describing some of the consequences that these plant-related activities may have had in terms of labour and social organization during EPPNB.     

Human–animal relationship influences husbandry practices,animal welfare and productivity in pig farming

The nature of the relationship between humans and farm animals has multiple repercussions on the animals and the farmers and varies with farmers attitudes towards their animals. In particular, this relationship influences animal welfare and human working conditions. The present study, part of a larger research project investigating human–animal relationship (HAR) in pig farming and ways to improve it, had two objectives: 1) to investigate the HAR in a diversity of pig farming situations and to evaluate the possible correlation between farmer attitudes, pigs' reactions to humans, husbandry practices, animal health, welfare and productivity and 2) to find a way to rapidly assign a farmer to a profile, in order to better adapt course content during training sessions on HAR. The study focused on 52 farrow-to-finish farms and consisted of a semi-structured interview with the farmer, observations of the farmer in contact with his/her livestock, two human approach tests conducted on sows and growers and productivity data. Finally, a questionnaire was left at the farm to be filled out by all stockpersons on the farm. Interviews, analyzed using a thematic analysis followed by multiple correspondence analysis and ascendant hierarchical clustering, showed that some farmers develop husbandry practices to improve their HARs and identified three farmer profiles that have been named in relation to the place of the HAR in their profession: Profile 1 farmers for whom HAR is secondary in their work with their pigs, Profile 2 for whom the HAR is useful in their work with their pigs and Profile 3 for whom HAR is central in their work with their pigs. Logistic regression models of the relationships between behavioral tests and productivity data showed that confident sows produce and wean more piglets than fearful sows and that sows of Profile 3 farmers trust more humans than those of Profile 1 or 2 farmers. Farmers' responses to the questionnaire did not predict their profile assignment. Our results confirm the main role of the farmer's attitude towards animals on their farming practices, animal welfare and productivity. The farmers who have more confident pigs and better productivity are those for whom the farm animal is central to their profession, express the most pleasure in working with them and convey empathy for them.     

Factors associated with the prevalence of circulating antigens to porcine cysticercosis in three villages of burkina faso

Background

Little is known about porcine cysticercosis in Burkina Faso. We conducted a pilot study to estimate the prevalence of antigens of Taenia solium cysticercosis and to identify associated factors in pigs of three villages in Burkina Faso, selected to represent different pig management practices: one village where pigs are allowed to roam freely (Batondo), one village where pigs are penned part of the time (Pabré) and one village with limited pig farming (Nyonyogo).

Methods/Principal Findings

A clustered random sampling design was used. Data on socio-demographic characteristics (source of drinking water, presence of latrines in the household, type and number of breeding animals) and pig management practices were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from one pig per household to determine the presence of antigens of the larval stages of T. solium by the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA. The associations between seropositivity and socio-demographic and pig management practices were estimated using logistic regression. Proportions of 32.5% (95% CI 25.4–40.3), 39.6% (31.9–47.8), and 0% of pigs, were found positive for the presence of circulating antigens of T. solium in Batondo, Pabré, and Nyonyogo, respectively. The results of the logistic regression analyses suggested that people acquire knowledge on porcine cysticercosis following the contamination of their animals. The presence of antigens in the pigs'' sera was not associated with the absence of latrines in the household, the source of drinking water or the status of infection in humans but was associated with pig rearing practices during the rainy season.

Conclusions/Significance

The results suggest that education of pig farmers is urgently needed to reduce the prevalence of this infection.     

From Early Domesticated Rice of the Middle Yangtze Basin to Millet,Rice and Wheat Agriculture: Archaeobotanical Macro-Remains from Baligang,Nanyang Basin,Central China (6700–500 BC)

Baligang is a Neolithic site on a northern tributary of the middle Yangtze and provides a long archaeobotanical sequence from the Seventh Millennium BC upto the First Millennium BC. It provides evidence for developments in rice and millet agriculture influenced by shifting cultural affiliation with the north (Yangshao and Longshan) and south (Qujialing and Shijiahe) between 4300 and 1800 BC. This paper reports on plant macro-remains (seeds), from systematic flotation of 123 samples (1700 litres), producing more than 10,000 identifiable remains. The earliest Pre-Yangshao occupation of the sites provide evidence for cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa) between 6300–6700 BC. This rice appears already domesticated in on the basis of a dominance of non-shattering spikelet bases. However, in terms of grain size changes has not yet finished, as grains are still thinner than more recent domesaticated rice and are closer in grain shape to wild rices. This early rice was cultivated alongside collection of wild staple foods, especially acorns (Quercus/Lithicarpus sensu lato). In later periods the sites has evidence for mixed farming of both rice and millets (Setaria italica and Panicum miliaceum). Soybean appears on the site in the Shijiahe period (ca.2500 BC) and wheat (Triticum cf. aestivum) in the Late Longshan levels (2200–1800 BC). Weed flora suggests an intensification of rice agriculture over time with increasing evidence of wetland weeds. We interpret these data as indicating early opportunistic cultivation of alluvial floodplains and some rainfed rice, developing into more systematic and probably irrigated cultivation starting in the Yangshao period, which intensified in the Qujialing and Shijiahe period, before a shift back to an emphasis on millets with the Late Longshan cultural influence from the north.     

Quand ils ne vivaient pas seulement de la chasse : preuves de domestication ancienne dans les gisements néolithiques d’Atxoste et de Mendandia (Pays Basque)

The combination of use wear analyses on lithic assemblages, palaeontological data and the presence of a quern-stone is considered direct and indirect proof of economic practices of production in the Neolithic sites of Atxoste and Mendandia. We also discuss the role that in this picture is suggested by a recent study on the genetics of the bovids from Mendandia. Both sites are rock-shelters seasonally occupied where the main economic vectors, but not the only ones, are hunting activities: they are integrated in a network created during the Mesolithic but still in use during the Early Neolithic until the mid sixth millennium cal BC when information on farming accumulates in the territory.     

The origins of animal domestication and husbandry: a major change in the history of humanity and the biosphere

This article aims to summarize the present archaeo(zoo)logical knowledge and reflections on the origins of Neolithic animal domestication. It targets the main characteristics of early Neolithic animal domestication set against a backdrop of two complementary scales, namely the global and macro-regional scales (the latter using the example of the Near East). It discusses the conceptual and methodological issues, arguing in favor of an anthropozoological approach taking into account the intentions and the dynamics of human societies and critically analyzes the reductionist neo-Darwinian concepts of co-evolution and human niche construction. It also provides a brief discussion on the birth of ungulate domestication and its roots, as well as appropriate bibliographic references to enlighten the current status of domestication research.     

Early Mixed Farming of Millet and Rice 7800 Years Ago in the Middle Yellow River Region,China

The Peiligang Culture (9000-7000 cal. yr BP) in the Middle Yellow River region, North China, has long been considered representative of millet farming. It is still unclear, however, if broomcorn millet or foxtail millet was the first species domesticated during the Peiligang Culture. Furthermore, it is also unknown whether millet was cultivated singly or together with rice at the same period. In this study, phytolith analysis of samples from the Tanghu archaeological site reveals early crop information in the Middle Yellow River region, China. Our results show that broomcorn millet was the early dry farming species in the Peiligang Culture at 7800 cal. yr BP, while rice cultivation took place from 7800 to 4500 cal. yr BP. Our data provide new evidence of broomcorn millet and rice mixed farming at 7800 cal. yr BP in the Middle Yellow River region, which has implications for understanding the domestication process of the two crops, and the formation and continuance of the Ancient Yellow River Civilization.     

Ancient DNA reveals the maternal genetic history of East Asian domestic pigs

Zoo-archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that pigs were domesticated independently in Central China and Eastern Anatolia along with the development of agricultural communities and civilizations. However, the genetic history of domestic pigs, especially in China, has not been fully explored. In this study, we generate 42 complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from ～7500- to 2750-year-old individuals from the Yellow River basin. Our results show that the maternal genetic continuity of East Asian domestic pigs dates back to at least the Early to Middle Neolithic. In contrast, the Near Eastern ancestry in European domestic pigs saw a near-complete genomic replacement by the European wild boar. The majority of East Asian domestic pigs share close haplotypes, and the most recent common ancestor of most branches dates back to less than 20,000 years before present, inferred using new substitution rates of whole mitogenomes or combined protein-coding regions. Two major population expansion events of East Asian domestic pigs coincided with changes in climate, widespread adoption of introduced crops, and the development of agrarian societies. These findings add to our understanding of the maternal genetic composition and help to complete the picture of domestic pig evolutionary history in East Asia.     

Agricultural practices and household organization in a Japanese pioneer community of lowland Bolivia

This article describes the colonization process of the Japanese pioneer farmers in the Bolivian subtropical lowlands. Quantitative data for each of the farm households that can be matched for comparison between the initial phase of colonization and a later phase provide the basis for an examination of a reciprocal relationship between household organization and successively introduced agricultural practices. Two hypotheses are tested: (a) pioneer agriculture stimulates the formation of large family households to cope with an assumed labor shortage; and (b) existing variation in household organization produces variation in agricultural practices. The analysis reveals that the size of swidden farming in the initial phase and the size of permanent field cultivation in the latter phase both relate positively to the size of the male labor force. Despite the significant advantage of a large family household for providing free labor during rapid agricultural growth, a diachronic analysis does not support the hypothesis that the pioneer condition stimulates adaptive social change toward the formation of large families. Rather, the data indicate that changes in household composition have major effects on the size of cropland and the transformation from swidden farming to mechanized cultivation. Underlying mechanisms of agricultural change are further explored, and the implications for a colonization project are discussed.     

Regional Variation in Pig Farmer Awareness and Actions Regarding Japanese Encephalitis in Nepal: Implications for Public Health Education

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that has pigs as the major amplifying hosts. It is the most important cause of viral encephalitis in people in Nepal and is spreading in its geographic distribution in that country. Pig farming is increasing in Nepal due to reducing cultural biases against pigs and government programs to support pig farming for poverty alleviation. Major strategies for JE prevention and control include education, vector control, and immunization of people and pigs. This study used a survey of 400 pig farmers in 4 areas of Nepal with different JE and pig farming histories to explore regional variations in farmer awareness and actions towards JE, the association of awareness and actions with farm and farmer variables, and the implications of these associations for public health education. Exposure to JE risk factors was common across pig farms and pig farming districts but there were significant district level differences in knowledge and practices related to on-farm JE risk reduction. Social factors such as literacy, gender, and cultural practices were associated with farmer attitudes, knowledge and practices for JE control. JE vaccine uptake was almost non-existent and mosquito control steps were inconsistently applied across all 4 districts. Income was not a determining factor of the differences, but all farmers were very poor. The low uptake of vaccine and lack of infrastructure or financial capacity to house pigs indoors or away from people suggest that farmer personal protection should be a priority target for education in Nepal. This study re-enforces the need to attack root causes of people’s personal disease prevention behaviours and take into account local variation in needs and capacities when designing health or agriculture education programs.     

安徽定远侯家寨遗址二期植物性食物资源利用的淀粉粒证据

淮河中游地区位于中国中东部地理、气候、文化的过渡地带,同时也是新石器时代北方旱作农业与南方稻作农业分布的交错地带。现有植物考古资料表明,新石器时代晚期是淮河中游地区农业结构从单一的稻作农业转变为稻旱兼作农业的关键阶段。然而,新石器时代晚期淮河中游地区,尤其是淮干以南地区先民的植物资源利用情况,以及该地区农业结构何时发生转变等问题至今依然不清楚。本文利用淀粉粒分析方法,对安徽定远侯家寨遗址二期（6.2~5.6 kaBP）出土的22件陶器残片表面残留物进行了分析。结果表明新石器时代晚期淮河中游淮干以南地区先民利用的植物性食物资源具有多样性,包括稻属（Oryza spp.）、小麦族（Triticeae）、薏苡属（Coix spp.）、粟（Setaria italica (L) P. Beauv.）、黍（Panicum miliaceum L.）、栎属（Quercus spp.）、莲属（Nelumbo spp.）以及块根块茎类植物等。稻属淀粉粒的发现证明,自新石器时代中期至新石器时代末期,淮河中游地区先民对水稻利用基本上是延续的。粟、黍淀粉粒是淮河中游淮干以南地区迄今为止已报道发现最早的旱生农作物的证据,意味着早在6.2~5.6 kaBP期间,北方旱作农业文化与淮河中游淮干以南地区可能就存在着食物的交流与传播。该结果对于了解淮河中游地区新石器时代农业发展、演变历程以及中国中东部稻作、粟作农业传播的时空路线等问题具有重要的科学价值。     

The pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic: long-term behavioral trends in the Levant

Few cultural developments have taken on as much archeological significance as when people began living in villages and producing their own food. The economic, social, technological, and ideological transformations immediately preceding and following these changes were profound. Early models of culture change associated with pre-agricultural societies of the Levant focused on the sudden, late origin of settled farming villages triggered by climate change. Accompanying this new economic and living situation was durable stone-built architecture; intensified plant and animal use; a flourishing of art and decoration; new mortuary traditions, including marked graves and cemeteries; elaborate ritual and symbolic behavior-a new way of life. This new life style arguably had a slow start, but really took off during the Epipaleolithic period (EP), spanning more than 10,000 years of Levantine prehistory from c. 23,000-11,500 cal BP. The last EP phase, immediately preceding the Neolithic, is by far the best-studied in terms of its cultural and economic contributions to questions on the origins of agriculture.1-4 Recently, archeologists have considered the earlier parts of the EP to be more culturally dynamic and similar to the later phase (Natufian) than was previously thought.3-10 The earlier EP is increasingly seen as demonstrating the behavioral variability and innovations that help us to understand the economic, technological, and social changes associated with complex hunter-gatherers of the Natufian and farmers of the Neolithic. This paper traces the cultural and biological developments of the EP period leading up to the Natufian and considers the long-term trajectory of culture change, social complexity, and village life in the Near East.     

线粒体全基因组揭示嫩江流域史前人群遗传结构的动态变化

嫩江流域是中国东北地区古代先民的重要栖息地之一。自新石器时代开始这里的先民一直以渔猎经济为主要生活方式,直到新石器时代晚期至早期青铜时代才开始兼营畜牧业和少量的种植业。嫩江流域青铜时代的生业模式的转变是否伴随着外来人群的融合与替代一直是考古研究的热点。为了探讨嫩江流域新石器时代与青铜铁器时代人群的构成是否改变,我们对嫩江流域新石器时代至青铜铁器时代的24个个体进行了线粒体全基因组分析。分析结果表明：嫩江流域青铜铁器时代人群与新石器时代人群具有一定遗传连续性的同时,晚期人群与西辽河地区古代人群有着更近的遗传联系,表明西辽河地区古代居民对嫩江流域青铜铁器时代人群具有部分遗传贡献。结合考古学文化、古气候学数据以及语言学证据,我们推测距今4000-3000年间,西辽河地区古代居民曾迁入到嫩江流域,并留下遗传印记。     

Mitochondrial lineages reveal intense gene flow between Iberian wild boars and South Iberian pig breeds

The phylogeography of wild boars (WB) and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) has contributed important insights into where and when domestication occurred. The geographic distribution of two core haplotypes (E1a and E1c) of the main European phylogenetic clade suggests that Central Europe was an early domestication centre, although the complexity of the pattern does not exclude the possibility that multiple domestication events occurred in different regions. To investigate the relationships among WB and domestic pig breeds in Iberia, a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region from a large sample (n = 409) of WB and local pig breeds was co‐analysed with published sequences from other European populations. The Iberian sample revealed a high frequency of a sub‐cluster (E1c) of the European haplogroup E1 in 77% of total Iberian samples, 96% of WB, 90% of Alentejano (Portugal) and 87% of Iberian breed pigs (Spain; Black Hairy, Black Hairless and Red varieties). Low genetic distance (F’_ST = 0.105) was observed between Alentejano (Portugal) and Iberian breed pigs (Spain). Alentejano and Iberian breed pigs showed low genetic distances to both Iberian and Central European WB (average F’_ST = 0.345 and 0.215, respectively). This pattern suggests that early pig husbandry in the Iberian Peninsula did not solely rely on imported Central European stock, but also included the recruitment of local WB.     

陕北榆林王阳畔遗址的植硅体分析

榆林地处农牧交错带,是研究环境演变和人地关系的理想地区。本文基于植硅体分析,探讨了该地区王阳畔遗址仰韶晚期至龙山早期过渡阶段的农业生产情况及农业对环境的适应等。遗址剖面及灰坑样品的植硅体分析表明:仰韶晚期,粟和黍是先民的主要粮食作物,而黍较粟始终保持着种植优势;龙山早期,粟作农业逐渐衰落。植硅体组合图谱显示,先民在此遗址活动期间,气候是略偏凉偏干的,整体上较为稳定,呈现出干凉化的趋势。综合来看,农业活动的强弱在一定程度上响应了环境的变化。需要指出的是,该遗址榆科植硅体的大量发现,不仅补充了史前植物利用史,同时也对丰富植硅体数据库具有重要意义。