Recently, with Capital Normal University (CNU) as the first unit, a scientific and technological archeology team from the School of History, CNU, together with many archaeological institutions at home and abroad, published online what Prof. Yuan Guangkuang's team had achieved in recent years in the field of multidisciplinary scientific and technological archeology in an important international academic journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, which was also included in SCIE/SSCI/A&HCI, exploring the human livelihood economy about 8,000 years ago and approaches of domestication of domestic pigs in early stages in ancient China. Prof. Yuan Guangkuang from the School of History, Capital Normal University is the corresponding author of the paper, while Associate Prof. You Yue serves as the first author of the paper.

The scientific and technological archeology team of the School of History conducted zooarchaeological research on the pig bones (6,100–5,500 BC) unearthed from the Guanjia site in Mianchi County, Henan Province, to determine the death age, sex ratio and other information of the domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) at the site, and compare them to the measurements of teeth of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) of Yangshao Age (5,000–3,000 BC) and Early Bronze Age (2,000–1,000 BC). At the same time, the team analyzed the feeding habits of pig and deer bones unearthed from the site using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, and the starch grains and phytolith residues of millet and broomcorn millet on the inner walls of the pottery shards unearthed from the site, aiming to comprehensively explore human behavior and strategies in the early stages of domestication of domestic pigs. In their research, the team comprehensively used a variety of scientific and technological archaeological analysis methods such as zooarchaeology, carbon/nitrogen stable isotopes, and botanical archeology, displaying its uniqueness in research.

According to previous research results, ancient China was a center for the independent domestication of domestic pigs in East Asia. The earliest domestic pigs in East Asia can be traced back to the Peiligan Culture Period (7,000–5,000 BC) of the Chinese Neolithic Age, which is a pride of the Chinese people. Based on this, the scientific and technological archeology team of the School of History further explained the vivid details of the early domestication of domestic pigs by ancient humans, emphasized the events and chronology of China's independent domestication of domestic pigs, and provided scientific evidence to verify China's prehistoric civilization and enhance national pride.

Text link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-024-01941-6