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Examining social and cultural differentiation in early Bronze Age China using stable isotope analysis and mortuary patterning of human remains at Xin’anzhuang, Yinxu

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Abstract

The site known as Yinxu (present-day Anyang, Henan, China) is believed to be the last capital of China’s first historical dynasty, Shang (ca. 1600–1046 BC). We use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen to reconstruct the dietary practices of 59 humans from the site Xin’anzhuang (XAZ), a residential neighborhood in Yinxu. By comparing the reconstructed diets with other archaeological and mortuary evidence, the study reveals that the XAZ inhabitants had a varied diet and that their dietary patterns correlate with certain mortuary practices (e.g., burial orientation, burial goods, etc.). This complex internal social stratification suggests that XAZ consisted of an agglomeration of people of different socio-cultural affiliations, confirming the hypothesis that Yinxu was a vibrant and diverse cultural center in early Bronze Age China.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the personnel at the Anyang Archaeology workstation for providing access to photos, site reports, and additional information of the site. We are grateful for the helpful comments and suggestions provided by the two anonymous reviewers. We would also like to thank the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for funding. We also thank Elizabeth Jarvis and Reba Macdonald with assistance in measuring the isotope values and to Zhang Hua, Darlene Weston, Megan Wong, and Ng Chung Hoi for their helpful comments. This research is part of CC’s PhD project, funded by a UBC Four Year Doctoral Fellowship.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z1, Canada

    Christina Cheung, Zhichun Jing & Michael P. Richards

  2. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, 100710, China

    Jigen Tang & Zhanwei Yue

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  1. Christina Cheung
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Correspondence to Christina Cheung.

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Cheung, C., Jing, Z., Tang, J. et al. Examining social and cultural differentiation in early Bronze Age China using stable isotope analysis and mortuary patterning of human remains at Xin’anzhuang, Yinxu . Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9, 799–816 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-015-0302-z

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