"Food is the most important thing for the people". The ancient Liangzhu country 5000 years ago created a brilliant civilization, and the foundation of this civilization is the developed rice agriculture. However, "Liangzhu people" don't just eat rice. They have delicious meat on their table. At the archaeological platform of Liangzhu ancient city ruins park, as the highlight of the series of activities of "exploring Liangzhu · the source of civilization", the "animal world of Liangzhu" exhibition is being held. Here, the audience can understand what meat the "Liangzhu people" loved 5000 years ago.
Exterior view of the exhibition hall. Map provided by the Management Committee of Hangzhou Liangzhu site management area
"Liangzhu people should eat the most pork, followed by venison." Song Shu, an animal archaeologist at the Zhejiang Institute of cultural relics and archaeology, said that among the mammalian bones unearthed at the site of Liangzhu ancient city, pig bones account for about 80% and deer bones account for about 10%.
A simulated archaeological research room was set up in the exhibition hall. Song Shu introduced animal archaeology to reporters (photographed on April 29). Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Yuan
More than ten skeletal remains of pigs, sika deer, buffalo and elk during the Liangzhu period were displayed at the exhibition site. They were all unearthed from the site of zhongjiagang. Zhongjiagang is the river outside the exhibition hall, which is not amazing. In Song Shu's eyes, it is a "rich mine" of animal Archaeology of Liangzhu culture.
"The south is humid and hot. Many places are acidic and corrosive. Therefore, it is difficult to preserve animal bones." Song Shu said that nearly 1000 Liangzhu Cultural sites have been found in the area around Taihu Lake, while only more than 30 sites have unearthed animal remains. Zhongjiagang is the only site in Liangzhu ancient city to retain animal remains.
Exterior view of the exhibition hall. Below the exhibition hall is zhongjiagang. Map provided by the Management Committee of Hangzhou Liangzhu site management area
The reason why zhongjiagang can retain animal remains is because of its unique geographical conditions. The ancestors built Liangzhu ancient city by building mounds on the water, and the remaining water surface between the mounds gradually formed a river course, which is how zhongjiagang was formed. Later, the ancestors directly dumped the domestic garbage into the river, and the animal bones sank to the bottom of the water and survived in the water rich anaerobic environment.
Zhongjiagang archaeological site. Map provided by the Management Committee of Hangzhou Liangzhu site management area
From 2015 to 2018, Zhejiang Institute of cultural relics and Archaeology excavated and cleaned up the zhongjiagang site. Song Shu and others conducted a more detailed scouring of the remains cleared in 2016, found more than 120000 animal skeleton remains, and identified more than 40 kinds of animals.
Among these animal bones, pig and deer bones are the most abundant. Song Shu said that the distortion of the dentition was observed on the pig's mandible, because after the pig was raised by humans, the mandible degenerated and shortened, and the teeth "grew crooked". At the same time, she also observed that some pigs had dental disease of "linear enamel hypoplasia", which was caused by physiological stress during the growth of mammals, which was also closely related to human intervention.
Pig bones unearthed from zhongjiagang site. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Yuan
"Based on various factors, it can be judged that the 'Liangzhu people' were raising domestic pigs at that time." Song Shu said. Domestic pigs grow up at the age of one and a half, and their meat volume and body shape will not change much. Therefore, people choose to kill pigs at this time, which is the most economical. The unearthed pig bones show that the pigs in Liangzhu site will live to be 1-2 years old.
Except for domestic pigs, only the bones of domestic animals such as dogs have been unearthed in the ancient city of Liangzhu. Among wild animals, deer have the most bones. The bones of five deer families have been found: elk, water deer, sika deer, Swertia deer and muntjac. "Liangzhu people" not only eat deer meat, but also like antlers and deer bones. Deer bones are thick, straight and easy to intercept. With a little grinding, they can be processed into bone products such as bone cones and bone hairpins.
Among the unearthed antlers, some are naturally fallen antlers picked up in spring, with antler rings at the end; Some are antlers cut from the head after the hunter killed the deer, with fragments of frontal bones on them. Antlers can be used for decoration, and the tip part can also be used as a bone cone.
Antlers unearthed from zhongjiagang site. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Yuan
Hunting, slaughtering, eating... These human behaviors will leave different traces on animal bones. At present, in Liangzhu Cultural Sites everywhere, researchers have found animal remains of 53 species and genera, including mollusks, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Animal archaeologists have made a comprehensive study on the utilization of animal resources in the Liangzhu period from the perspective of the anatomical morphology, age of death, gender composition, pathological phenomena and bone traces of animal remains, and found the breeding culture with distinctive regional characteristics in the Liangzhu period - the ancestors raised livestock on the one hand, and obtained wild meat through hunting and fishing on the other hand.
Song Shu studied the unearthed animal bones in the laboratory. Provided by the interviewee
"We found tiger bones left after eating and crocodile bone plates, indicating that crocodile skin products were available at that time." Song Shu said that they also found shark teeth, which may be paying tribute from other places to the ancient city of Liangzhu with only fresh water around.
In 2019, Liangzhu ancient city ruins park was opened to the public, and Luyuan was specially set up in the park. Map provided by the Management Committee of Hangzhou Liangzhu site management area
Liangzhu ancient city is located on the alluvial plain between the two remaining veins of Tianmu Mountain. At that time, the climate was warmer and wetter. Similar to today's South China, the rich animal resources also supported the prosperity of Liangzhu civilization. Song Shu said that animal archaeology helps to better study the lives of local people.