Preliminary Faunal Analysis of Yishengci, Nanyang, Henan Province

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Populations of Early Medieval China: Developing Anthropological Approaches to Historical Archaeology in China" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Yishengci is located in the southeastern corner of the ancient Wancheng city (Nanyang, Henan Province), which is at present one of the most important urban sites of the Han dynasty (ca. 202 BC–AD 9). In spring and summer 2021 four trash pits were excavated, uncovering, among other finds, a significant number of animal bones. We present a preliminary analysis of the faunal remains uncovered during these excavations. Pigs were the most commonly identified specimens, whereas additional identified taxa include large and medium bovines (cattle and sheep), canids, horse, cervids, small rodents, and birds. Other notable finds include a group of worked elements, including bone hairpins and decorative items made of pig teeth. Our analysis makes an important contribution to the limited zooarchaeological data for this period and allows a concrete insight into the subsistence strategies of the urban Han population, which has so far been mostly understood through written sources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Populations of Early Medieval China: Developing Anthropological Approaches to Historical Archaeology in China   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36091.0