Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.

Mollusk remains are abundant in archaeological sites in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China, providing good opportunities for investigations into the use of mollusks by prehistoric humans. Here we report on freshwater gastropod and bivalve mollusks covering the time interval from about 5600 to...

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Autores principales:	Fengjiang Li, Naiqin Wu, Houyuan Lu, Jianping Zhang, Weilin Wang, Mingzhi Ma, Xiaohu Zhang, Xiaoyan Yang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c80d250be54c40f281851fdd36532ede
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c80d250be54c40f281851fdd36532ede2021-11-18T07:53:04ZMid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0058999https://doaj.org/article/c80d250be54c40f281851fdd36532ede2013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23544050/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Mollusk remains are abundant in archaeological sites in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China, providing good opportunities for investigations into the use of mollusks by prehistoric humans. Here we report on freshwater gastropod and bivalve mollusks covering the time interval from about 5600 to 4500 cal. yrs BP from sites of Mid-Late Neolithic age. They are identified as Cipangopaludina chinensis and Unio douglasiae, both of which are currently food for humans. The shells are well preserved and have no signs of abrasion. They are all freshwater gastropods and bivalves found in pits without water-reworked deposits and have modern representatives which can be observed in rivers, reservoirs, and paddy fields in the studied region. Mollusk shells were frequently recovered in association with mammal bones, lithic artifacts, and pottery. These lines of evidence indicate that the mollusks are the remains of prehistoric meals. The mollusk shells were likely discarded into the pits by prehistoric humans after the flesh was eaten. However, these mollusk remains may not have been staple food since they are not found in large quantities. Mollusk shell tools and ornaments are also observed. Shell tools include shell knives, shell reaphooks and arrowheads, whereas shell ornaments are composed of pendants and loops. All the shell tools and ornaments are made of bivalve mollusks and do not occur in large numbers. The finding of these freshwater mollusk remains supports the view that the middle Holocene climate in the Guanzhong Basin may have been warm and moist, which was probably favorable to freshwater mollusks growing and developing in the region.Fengjiang LiNaiqin WuHouyuan LuJianping ZhangWeilin WangMingzhi MaXiaohu ZhangXiaoyan YangPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 3, p e58999 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Fengjiang Li Naiqin Wu Houyuan Lu Jianping Zhang Weilin Wang Mingzhi Ma Xiaohu Zhang Xiaoyan Yang Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
description	Mollusk remains are abundant in archaeological sites in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China, providing good opportunities for investigations into the use of mollusks by prehistoric humans. Here we report on freshwater gastropod and bivalve mollusks covering the time interval from about 5600 to 4500 cal. yrs BP from sites of Mid-Late Neolithic age. They are identified as Cipangopaludina chinensis and Unio douglasiae, both of which are currently food for humans. The shells are well preserved and have no signs of abrasion. They are all freshwater gastropods and bivalves found in pits without water-reworked deposits and have modern representatives which can be observed in rivers, reservoirs, and paddy fields in the studied region. Mollusk shells were frequently recovered in association with mammal bones, lithic artifacts, and pottery. These lines of evidence indicate that the mollusks are the remains of prehistoric meals. The mollusk shells were likely discarded into the pits by prehistoric humans after the flesh was eaten. However, these mollusk remains may not have been staple food since they are not found in large quantities. Mollusk shell tools and ornaments are also observed. Shell tools include shell knives, shell reaphooks and arrowheads, whereas shell ornaments are composed of pendants and loops. All the shell tools and ornaments are made of bivalve mollusks and do not occur in large numbers. The finding of these freshwater mollusk remains supports the view that the middle Holocene climate in the Guanzhong Basin may have been warm and moist, which was probably favorable to freshwater mollusks growing and developing in the region.
format	article
author	Fengjiang Li Naiqin Wu Houyuan Lu Jianping Zhang Weilin Wang Mingzhi Ma Xiaohu Zhang Xiaoyan Yang
author_facet	Fengjiang Li Naiqin Wu Houyuan Lu Jianping Zhang Weilin Wang Mingzhi Ma Xiaohu Zhang Xiaoyan Yang
author_sort	Fengjiang Li
title	Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
title_short	Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
title_full	Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
title_fullStr	Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
title_full_unstemmed	Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.
title_sort	mid-neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the guanzhong basin of northwestern china: preliminary results.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/c80d250be54c40f281851fdd36532ede
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Mid-Neolithic exploitation of mollusks in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwestern China: preliminary results.

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