Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:46:43.241Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sika deer in Bronze Age Guanzhong: sustainable wildlife exploitation in ancient China?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2021

Yue Li Open the ORCID record for Yue Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Chengrui Zhang ,
Honghai Chen ,
Zhen Wang  and
Yaopeng Qian
Yue Li
Affiliation:
School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, P.R. China Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Studies and Conservation, Northwest University, P.R. China
Chengrui Zhang*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, USA
Honghai Chen
Affiliation:
School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, P.R. China Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Studies and Conservation, Northwest University, P.R. China
Zhen Wang
Affiliation:
School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, P.R. China Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Studies and Conservation, Northwest University, P.R. China
Yaopeng Qian
Affiliation:
School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, P.R. China Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Studies and Conservation, Northwest University, P.R. China
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ chengrui_zhang@g.harvard.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The interplay between sustainability and anthropogenic landscape transformation is crucial to understanding the past decline and eradication of wild animals. The Bronze Age site of Zaoshugounao is located in the Guanzhong region of China, an area critical in the formation and development of early Chinese civilisation. Drawing upon zooarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental and textual evidence, analysis of sika deer remains from Zaoshugounao reveals sustainable sika deer-hunting strategies at the site, despite an overall long-term trend in the sika deer population decline and habitat loss. The authors’ results highlight the complexity and diversity of human-sika relations and contribute to ongoing discussions surrounding wild animal eradication and conservation in China.

Keywords

ChinaGuanzhongZaoshugounaoBronze Agesika deersustainabilityzooarchaeology
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 95 , Issue 382 , August 2021 , pp. 940 - 954
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bar-Oz, G., Zeder, M. & Hole, F.. 2011. Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the Northern Levant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 108: 7345–50. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1017647108CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boivin, N.L., Zeder, M.A., Fuller, D.Q., Crowther, A., Larson, G., Erlandson, J.M., Denham, T. & Petraglia, M.D.. 2016. Ecological consequences of human niche construction: examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 113: 6388–96. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525200113CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caughley, G. 1977. Analysis of vertebrate populations. London: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Cook, C.E., Wang, Y. & Sensabaugh, G.. 1999. A mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b phylogeny of sika deer (Cervus nippon) and report of tandem repeats in the control region. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 12: 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.1998.0593CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, S. 1987. The archaeology of animals. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Emery, K.F. & Brown, L.A.. 2012. Maya hunting sustainability: perspectives from past and present, in Chacon, R.J. & Mendoza, R.G. (ed.) The ethics of anthropology and Amerindian research: reporting on environmental degradation and warfare: 79–116. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1065-2_6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Etnier, M. 2007. Defining and identifying sustainable harvests of resources: archaeological examples of pinniped harvests in the eastern North Pacific. Journal of Nature Conservation 15: 196–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2007.04.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fagan, B.M. 1996. The Oxford companion to archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Feldhamer, G.A. 1980. Cervus nippon. Mammalian Species 128: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.2307/3504044CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiskesjö, M. 2001. Rising from blood-stained fields: royal hunting and state formation in Shang China. Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 73: 49–191.Google Scholar
Flad, R.K. 2008. A multiregional view of the development of oracle bone divination in early China. Current Anthropology 49: 403–37. https://doi.org/10.1086/588495CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frazier, J. 2007. Sustainable use of wildlife: the view from archaeozoology. Journal of Nature Conservation 15: 163–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2007.08.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geist, V. 1998. Deer of the world: their evolution, behavior, and ecology. Mechanicsburg (PA): Stackpole.Google Scholar
Ginsberg, J.R. & Milner-Gulland, E.J.. 1994. Sex-biased harvesting and population dynamics in ungulates: implication for conservation and sustainable use. Conservation Biology 8: 157–66. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010157.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goss, R.J. 1961. Experimental investigation of morphogenesis in the growing antler. Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology 9: 342–54.Google ScholarPubMed
Grigg, G., Hale, P. & Lunney, D.. 1995. Conservation through sustainable use of wildlife. Brisbane: Centre for Conservation Biology, the University of Queensland.Google Scholar
Groves, C.P. & Grubb, P.. 1987. Relationships of living deer, in Wemmer, C. (ed.) The biology and management of the Cervidae: 21–59. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute.Google Scholar
Guo, Y. & Zheng, H.. 1992. Zhongguo Meihualu Dili Fenbu De Bianqian. Sichuan Shifan Xueyuan Xuebao (Ziran Kexue Ban) 13: 1–9.Google Scholar
Guo, Y. & Zheng, H.. 2000. Zhongguo Meihualu Dishi Fenbu, Zhong, He Yazhong De Huafen Ji Yanhua Lishi. Shoulei Xuebao 20: 168–79.Google Scholar
Harris, R.B. 2015. Cervus nippon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T41788A22155877.Google Scholar
Hayden, T.J., Lynch, J.M. & O'Corry-Crowe, G.. 1994. Antler growth and biology in a feral sika deer (Cervus nippon) population in Killarney, Ireland. Journal of Zoology 232: 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1994.tb01557.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, S. 2007. Chutu Dongwu Yicun Fenxi, in Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology & Baoji Municipal Team of Archaeology (ed.) Baoji Guantaoyuan: 283–318. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Hu, S. 2010. Gaoling Dongying Chutu Dongwu Yicun Fenxi, in Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology & Research Center on Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (ed.) Gaoling Dongying: 147–200. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Hu, S. 2011. Donglongshan Yizhi Chutu Dongwu Yicun Fenxi, in Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology & Shangluo Museum (ed.) Shangluo Donglongshan: 312–430. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Hu, S. 2014. Quanhucun Dongwu Yicun Fenxi, in Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Weinan Bureau of Cultural Relics and Tourism & Huaxian Bureau of Cultural Relics and Tourism (ed.) Huaxian Quanhucun: 595–661. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Hu, S. 2017. Chutu Dongwu Yicun Fenxi, in Xi'an Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (ed.) Xi'an Yuhuazhai: 1258–440. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jiang, Z., Kaji, K. & Ping, X.. 2016. The tale of two deer: management of Père David's deer and sika deer in the anthropogenic landscape of Eastern Asia. Animal Production Science 56: 953–61. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15292CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koike, H. & Ohtaishi, N.. 1985. Prehistoric hunting pressure estimated by the age composition of excavated sika deer (Cervus nippon) using the annual layer of tooth cement. Journal of Archaeological Science 12: 443–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(85)90004-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lam, Y., Brunson, K., Meadow, R. & Yuan, J.. 2009. Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China. Quaternary International 211: 86–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2009.01.014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lander, B. & Brunson, K.. 2018a. The Sumatran rhinoceros was extirpated from mainland East Asia by hunting and habitat loss. Current Biology 28: R1–R2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lander, B. & Brunson, K.. 2018b. Wild mammals of ancient north China. Journal of Chinese History 2: 291–312. https://doi.org/10.1017/jch.2017.45CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landesman, N. 1999. Cervus nippon. Animal Diversity Web. Available online: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cervus_nippon (accessed 10 May 2021).Google Scholar
Li, C. 2012. Shaanxi Chunhua Xian Zaoshugounao Yizhi Xianzhou Shiqi Yicun. Kaogu 3: 20–34.Google Scholar
Li, S., Li, H., Zheng, X., Ge, M. & Zhao, M.. 1998. Dongbei Meihualu Yuzhong Hexin Zhongqun Gongmu Lu Zuijia Nianling Zuhe. Jingji Dongwu Xuebao 2: 21–26.Google Scholar
Li, X. 2013. The later Neolithic period in the central Yellow River Valley area, c. 4000–3000 BC, in Underhill, A. (ed.) A companion to Chinese archaeology: 213–35. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325698.ch11Google Scholar
Li, Y. 2009. Hydrological study of Holocene extreme floods and climate change in the Jinghe River drainage basin. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Shaanxi Normal University, China.Google Scholar
Li, Y., Zhang, Y. & Xue, X.. 2012. The composition of three mammal faunas and environmental evolution in the Last Glacial Maximum, Guanzhong area, Shaanxi Province, China. Quaternary International 248: 86–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.02.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y., Zhang, C., Wang, Z., Dou, H., Liu, H., Hou, F., Ma, M., Qian, Y. & Chen, H.. 2020. Animal use at the Shang–Zhou transition in northern China: evidence from Zaoshugounao and Zaolinhetan in the Jing River Valley. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 3: 318–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2860CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lister, A. 1984. Evolutionary and ecological origins of British deer. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences 82: 205–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269727000003754CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, L. 2004. The Chinese Neolithic: trajectories to early states. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489624Google Scholar
Liu, L. & Chen, X.. 2012. The archaeology of China: from the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139015301CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, L., Yan, Y. & Qin, X.. 2001. Shaanxi Lintong Kangjia Longshan Wenhua Yizhi 1990 Nian Fajue Dongwu Yicun. Huaxia Kaogu 1: 3–24.Google Scholar
Lott, D.F. 2002. American bison: a natural history. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520930742Google Scholar
Luo, Y. 2009. Guanzhong Diqu Shiqian Dongwu Kaoguxue Yanjiu De Jige Wenti. Kaogu Yu Wenwu 5: 89–94.Google Scholar
Lyman, R.E. & Cannon, K.P.. 2004. Applied zooarchaeology, because it matters, in Lyman, R.E. & Cannon, K.P. (ed.) Zooarchaeology and conservation biology: 1–24. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.Google Scholar
McCullough, D.R. 2009. Introduction, in McCullough, D.R., Takatsuki, S. & Kaji, K. (ed.) Sika deer: biology and management of native and introduced populations: 1–10. Tokyo & New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-09429-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China & National Forestry and Grassland Administration. 2021. Guojia Zhongdian Baohu Yesheng Dongwu Minglu [List of key protected wild animals in China]. Available at: http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2021-02/09/content_5586227.htm (accessed 10 May 2021).Google Scholar
Miura, S. 1984. Annual cycles of coat changes, antler regrowth, and reproductive behavior of sika deer in Nara Park, Japan. Journal of the Mammalogical Society of Japan 10: 1–7.Google Scholar
Miura, S. & Tokida, K.. 2009. Management strategy of sika deer based on sensitivity analysis, in McCullough, D.R., Takatsuki, S. & Kaji, K. (ed.) Sika deer: biology and management of native and introduced populations: 453–74. Tokyo & New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-09429-6_32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nowak, R.M. (ed.). 1999. Walker's mammals of the world. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Ohtaishi, N. & Gao, Y.. 1990. A review of the distribution of all species of deer (Tragulidae, Moschidae and Cervidae) in China. Mammal Review 20: 125–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1990.tb00108.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qi, G. 1988. Jiangzhai Xinshiqi Shidai Yizhi Dongwuqun De Fenxi, in Xi'an Banpo Museum, Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology & Lintong Museum (ed.) Jiangzhai: 504–38. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Qian, Y., Li, C. & Wei, N.. 2008. Chunhua Xian Zaoshugounao Yizhi Diaocha Fajue De Zhuyao Shouhuo. Xibeidaxue Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue Ban) 38(4): 51–55.Google Scholar
Qin, R. (ed.). 1994. Zhongguo Meihualu. Beijing: China Agricultural Press.Google Scholar
Qu, Y., Hu, K., Yang, M. & Cui, J.. 2018. Xinshiqi Shidai Guanzhong Diqu Renlei Shengye Moshi Yanbian De Shengwu Kaoguxue Zhengju. Renleixue Xuebao 37: 96–109.Google Scholar
Reitz, E. & Wing, E.. 2008. Zooarchaeology. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, N. 2011. Social zooarchaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelach-Lavi, G. 2015. The archaeology of early China: from prehistory to the Han Dynasty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139022682CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, H. 1985. Woguo Yaredai He Redai Diqu De Luke Dongwu Ziyuan. Huadong Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Ziran Kexue Ban) 1: 96–104.Google Scholar
Sheng, H. 1992. Zhongguo Lulei Dongwu. Shanghai: Huadong Shifan Daxue Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Smith, A.T. & Xie, Y. (ed.). 2008. A guide to the mammals of China. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Song, J. 2018. Quyu Shehui de Xingcheng yu Fazhan: Shangdai Guanzhong De Kaoguxue Yanjiu. Xinbei: Hua Mulan Wenhua Shiye Youxian Gongsi.Google Scholar
Song, Y. & Liu, Z.. 2005. Zhenxi Dongwu: Meihualu Jiqi Yanjiu. Shengwuxue Tongbao 40(7): 1–3.Google Scholar
Stevenson-Barry, J.M., Drew, K.R., Duncan, S.J. & Littlejohn, R.P.. 1999. The relationship of meat quality to age at slaughter and indicators of animal age in red deer stags and hinds. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 59: 137–39.Google Scholar
Sugiyama, N., Somerville, A.D. & Schoeninger, M.J.. 2015. Stable isotopes and zooarchaeology at Teotihuacan, Mexico reveal earliest evidence of wild carnivore management in Mesoamerica. PLoS ONE 10: e0135635. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135635CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uchiyama, J. 1999. Seasonality and age structure in an archaeological assemblage of sika deer (Cervus nippon). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 9: 209–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1212(199907/08)9:4<209::AID-OA457>3.0.CO;2-U3.0.CO;2-U>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, H., Wang, W., Hu, S. & Martin, L.. 2013. Weishui Liuyu Xinshiqi Shidai Jiazhu De Xunhua Yu Siyang Celue. Kaogu 9: 87–98.Google Scholar
Wang, H., Wang, W. & Wang, S.. 2014. Yangshao Shidai Renlei Shoulie Meihualu De Celue: Yi Tongchuan Wayaogou Yizhi Wei Anli. Renleixue Xuebao 32(4): 1–11.Google Scholar
Wang, L. 2002. Zhonggu Huabei De Lulei Dongwu Yu Shengtai Huanjing. Zhongguo Shehui Kexue 3: 188–208.Google Scholar
Wang, L. & Song, X.. 2014. Zhongguo De Meihualu Shengtai Xianzhaung. Tezhong Jingji Dongzhiwu 3: 12–14.Google Scholar
Wang, S. 1998. Zhongguo Binwei Dongwu Hongpishu: Shoulei [China red data book of endangered animals: Mammalia]. Beijing: Kexue Chubanse.Google Scholar
Wang, Y. 2005. Jingluo Liuyu Ziran Huanjing Bianqian Yanjiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.Google Scholar
Wang, Z. & Chen, H.. 2010. Shaanxi Chunhua Zaoshugounao Yizhi 2008 Niandu Fajue De Zhuyao Shouhuo. Xibei Daxue Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue Ban) 40(6): 32–36.Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Qian, Y. & Liu, R.. 2013. Shaanxi Chunhua Zaoshugounao Yizhi 2007 Nian Fajue Jianbao. Wenwu 2: 55–66.Google Scholar
Watson, J. 1978. The interpretation of epiphyseal fusion data, in Brothwell, D.R., Thomas, K. & Clutton-Brock, J. (ed.) Research problems in zooarchaeology: 97–101. London: UCL Institute of Archaeology.Google Scholar
Weinbaum, K.Z., Brashares, J.S., Golden, C.D. & Gets, W.M.. 2013. Searching for sustainability: are assessments of wildlife harvests behind the times? Ecological Letters 16: 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, F., Li, H, Jin, L., Li, X., Ma, Y., You, J., Li, S. & Xu, Y.. 2013. Deer antler base as a traditional Chinese medicine: a review of its traditional uses, chemistry and pharmacology. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 145: 403–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2012.12.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yamazaki, T., Jogahara, T., Koyasu, K. & Oda, S.. 2012. Estimation of age at death of sika deer (Cervus nippon) from an archaeological site based on radiographs of mandibular molariform tooth development. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 22: 185–93. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.1195CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuan, J. 1999. Lun Zhongguo Xinshiqi Shidai Jumin Huoqu Roushi Ziyuan De Fangshi. Kaogu Xuebao 1: 1–22.Google Scholar
Yuan, J. 2008. Zhongguo Dongwu Kaoguxue. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe.Google Scholar
Xue, X., Zhou, W., Zhou, J., Head, M. & Jull, A.. 2000. Biological records of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment changes from Guanzhong area, Shaanxi Province during the Last Glacial Maximum. Chinese Science Bulletin 45: 853–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887417CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeng, Z., Chen, B., Yang, S. & Zhou, Z.. 2002. Dongbei Meihualu Chanrong Xingneng Fenxi. Jingji Dongwu Xuebao. Jingji Dongwu Xuebao 6(3): 23–25.Google Scholar
Zhang, S., Wang, Y., Yu, P., Zhang, H., Liu, G. & Tu, X.. 2011. Jinghe Liuyu Jin 50 Nian Lai De Jingliu Shikong Bianhua Yu Qudongli Fenxi. Dili Kexue 31: 721–27.Google Scholar
Zhao, Y., Chen, T., Zhang, A., Chai, B., Ding, D., Zhang, Z. & Liu, J.. 1991. Dongbei Meihualu Chanrong Liang Yu Nianling Jian De Xiangguan Fenxi. Heilongjiang Xumu Shouyi 8: 36–37.Google Scholar
Zhou, S. & Wu, S.. 1981. Meihualu Zai Sichuan De Shengzhi Shengli He Fanzhi Xingneng Guancha. Dongwuxue Zazhi 16: 18–21.Google Scholar
Zhu, Y. 2013. The Early Neolithic in the central Yellow River Valley, c. 7000–4000 BC, in Underhill, A. (ed.) A companion to Chinese archaeology: 171–93. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Li et al. supplementary material

Tables S1-S3

Download Li et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 377.4 KB