Rearing Strategies and Ritual Utilization of Sacrificial Animals at the Yanshi Shang City Site from a Stable Isotope Perspective

Previous studies of sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty have focused on animal types and ritual use while neglecting rearing and selection strategies. This study analyzed 46 animal bones from the Yanshi Shang City site (1600–1360 BC), one of the capitals of the Shang Dynasty, including putative sacrificial and non-sacrificial pigs (n = 27), cattle (n = 6), water buffalo (n = 1), sheep/goats (n = 10), dog (n = 1), and deer (n = 1). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was used to reconstruct diets and husbandry practices and was combined with data from the Xinzhai and Erlitou sites to examine the development of the sacrificial animal system. Results showed an intensive multi-crop system based on C4 (millet) and C3 (likely rice) resources, with distinct feeding strategies among taxa. Significant isotopic differences emerged between putative sacrificial and non-sacrificial pigs. Putative sacrificial pigs (n = 12) showed higher δ15N (9.4 ± 0.9) and more variable δ13C data (−12.6 ± 2.9‰) compared with non-sacrificial individuals (δ13C: −9.6 ± 2.1, δ15N: 7.4 ± 1.3, n = 14), which may reflect specialized feeding and selective management. No such differentiation was observed at earlier sites such as Xinzhai and Erlitou. During the Early Shang period, rearing strategies shifted from less differentiated selection to more specialized husbandry and selective management. This pattern suggests increasing differentiation in ritual animal management and may also reflect increasing control over ritual resources. These findings provide bioarchaeological evidence relevant to the development of early state ritual practices.