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Forager-farmer transition at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia 4900 years ago

Ma, M; Lu, M; Sun, R; Zhu, Z; Fuller, DQ; Guo, J; He, G; ... Dong, G; + view all (2024) Forager-farmer transition at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia 4900 years ago. Science Bulletin , 69 (1) pp. 103-113. 10.1016/j.scib.2023.10.015.

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Abstract

The southward expansion of East Asian farmers profoundly influenced the social evolution of Southeast Asia by introducing cereal agriculture. However, the timing and routes of cereal expansion in key regions are unclear due to limited empirical evidence. Here we report macrofossil, microfossil, multiple isotopic (C/N/Sr/O) and paleoproteomic data directly from radiocarbon-dated human samples, which were unearthed from a site in Xingyi in central Yunnan and which date between 7000 and 3300 a BP. Dietary isotopes reveal the earliest arrival of millet ca. 4900 a BP, and greater reliance on plant and animal agriculture was indicated between 3800 and 3300 a BP. The dietary differences between hunter-gatherer and agricultural groups are also evident in the metabolic and immune system proteins analysed from their skeletal remains. The results of paleoproteomic analysis indicate that humans had divergent biological adaptations, with and without farming. The combined application of isotopes, archaeobotanical data and proteomics provides a new approach to documenting dietary and health changes across major subsistence transitions.

Type: Article
Title: Forager-farmer transition at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia 4900 years ago
Location: Netherlands
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.10.015
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.10.015
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Isotopes, Proteomics, Yunnan, Millet, Agricultural origins, Human health
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185129
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