In order to study the sus diets and explore the possibility to distinguish domestic pig from wild boar through dietary analysis, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of 28 pig bones from archaeological site of Wanfabozi in Tonghua City, Jilin Province were analyzed. The δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of uncontaminated bones show that the overall pigs in the site were generally herbivores and ate mainly C 3 plants. Significant difference of δ 15 N values was observed between wild boar and domestic pigs, which may result from the higher consumption of animal protein in domestic pigs other than from that in wild boar, possibly from human leftover or waste,. The dietary difference between wild boar and domestic pigs has great potential to differentiate wild boar and domestic pigs in the early stage of pig domestication.
Cattle are one of the six livestock species that have occupied an important place in Chinese history. Previous ancient DNA studies have indicated that Chinese taurine cattle (Bos taurus taurus) are exotic, but the exact route and diffusion by which they were introduced to China is unknown. In this study, we extracted the mitochondrial genomes of 34 cases of ancient taurine cattle (from the late Neolithic to Qin and Han dynasties) excavated from sites in northern China and the eastern Eurasian steppe, and successfully obtained 14 mitochondrial genome sequences. The results of ancient DNA analysis reveal that with cultural exchange and trade, there was close genetic exchange between domestic taurine cattle in different regions. The haplotypes shared by domestic cattle have genetic continuity, reflecting the strong cultural influence of the large capital city sites such as Taosi, Shimao and Erlitou on the surrounding areas. This study suggests that ancient northern Chinese taurine cattle may have accompanied the westward transmission of agricultural or painted pottery culture and thus had a maternal genetic contribution to modern Tibetan cattle.
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