Multi-proxy investigations of subsistence strategy during Bronze Age in Inner Mongolia, China

Investigations of ancient subsistence strategies are important to understand early civilizations. However, the emergence of high complexity and how groups adapted to the harsh environment in the loess-desert transition zone remain unclear, especially in the Inner Mongolian region. Here, we first present new evidence of archaeobotanical (n = 24) and stable isotope analyses (n = 23) of humans, animals, and plants from the Sharitala site in Inner Mongolia. It is shown that the foxtail millet has the highest proportion (90.9%) among all the crops. The average δ15N value of foxtail millet seeds is 5.1‰, which implies the existence of a certain degree of fertilization behavior. The ancestors of this region mainly consumed C4 type crops and/or the livestock raised on C4 type crops. By integrating data from 15 archaeological sites of the loess-desert transition zone, we found that the subsistence strategies were influenced by natural and social factors.