The Diet Of Eastern Zhou And Han People In Zhengzhou,Henan Province

Chinese culture is one of the most important food culture in the world.Studying the diet of ancient people is an important window to explore ancient Chinese society and culture,and also provides an important perspective to examine the impact of social changes on people’s lives.The politics,economy and culture of Chinese society have undergone dramatic changes from the frequent confrontations among the feudal princes in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the prosperity and development of the Han Empire.In order to explore the impact of this social change on people’s daily life,this paper looks at the diet of the ancient people in Zhengzhou area of Henan Province through the analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of 96 human bones and 7 animal bones unearthed from Gaolou,Weiyenaxiaozhen site in in Xinzheng and Longhu Guomingyichang site.The following preliminary conclusions are drawn based on the research:First,in the suburb of the Zhenghan city(Gaolou and Weiyenaxiaozhen site),the residents in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty had a mixed diet of C3 and C4 resources,while C4 resources are dominant(millets).In Han Dynasty,the residents still had a mixed diet of C3 and C4 food,but C3 resources(wheat)began to dominate.The proportion of animal protein in people’s diet did not change much from Eastern Zhou Dynasty to Han Dynasty.In addition,the within population dietary differences of Xinzheng district during Eastern Zhou and Han Dynasty were mainly on the intake of meat resources,and were influenced by the gender,age and economic strength of the ancient people.Second,in the outskirts of the Zhenghan city(Longhuguomianyichang site),the diet of the ancient people of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Han Dynasty were different.The diet of the Han Dynasty residents contained more wheat and meat.In addition,during Eastern Zhou and Han Dynasty within population dietary differences were reflected by the intake of plant food and meat,and were affected by the age and economic status of ancient people.Third,during the Eastern Zhou and Han Dynasties,the diet of ancient people changed significantly in Henan Province.During the Han Dynasty,wheat had been widely accepted by the local people and became one of the staple food,but its social status was still inferior to millets.In terms of the fuan resources,the changes of meat consumption in different areas are different.In Zhengzhou area,the meat consumption level increased from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty,but this change was accompanied by greater differences between the rich and the poor,and the diet of rich individuals included more meat resources.However,in the southwest mountains region of Henan,the meat intake level was very limited and did not change significantly from Eastern Zhou to Han Dynasty.Forth,in terms of female social status,the gendered dietary differences were mainly found in Zhengzhou area during Eastern Zhou Dynasty,no similar trend were found in other sites.The gendered dietary difference in Zhengzhou area was closely related to the social status.The lower aristocratic women ate more wheat and less meat resources than men.In contrast,the dietary differences among the civilian class were smaller,men and women commoners had a similar diet.In Han Dynasty,the difference between men and women was smaller than that of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty,but men still ate more meat resources than women.Finally,residents inside and outside the city of the Zhenghan city had a different diet.The poor quality of the diet of civilians living near the defensive cities in the suburbs may be caused by consecutive years of wars.In contrast,the people living in the capital area were less affected by the wars and chaos,and the higher food quality of city residents than that in the suburbs may also benefited from the prosperous economic trade and national policies.In remote rural areas,the impact of war chaos is relatively small,and local farmers can obtain sufficient food resources through self-sufficiency.