Hostname: page-component-7d684dbfc8-mqbnt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2023-10-01T17:14:22.125Z Has data issue: false Feature Flags: { "corePageComponentGetUserInfoFromSharedSession": true, "coreDisableEcommerce": false, "coreDisableSocialShare": false, "coreDisableEcommerceForArticlePurchase": false, "coreDisableEcommerceForBookPurchase": false, "coreDisableEcommerceForElementPurchase": false, "coreUseNewShare": true, "useRatesEcommerce": true } hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From pack animals to polo: donkeys from the ninth-century Tang tomb of an elite lady in Xi'an, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Songmei Hu ,
Yaowu Hu ,
Junkai Yang ,
Miaomiao Yang ,
Pianpian Wei ,
Yemao Hou  and
Fiona B. Marshall
Songmei Hu
Affiliation:
Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Yaowu Hu*
Affiliation:
Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Fudan University, P.R. China Institute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, P.R. China Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China
Junkai Yang
Affiliation:
Xi'an Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Miaomiao Yang
Affiliation:
Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Pianpian Wei
Affiliation:
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, P.R. China
Yemao Hou
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China
Fiona B. Marshall*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, USA
*
*Authors for correspondence: ✉ ywhu@ucas.ac.cn; fmarshal@wustl.edu
*Authors for correspondence: ✉ ywhu@ucas.ac.cn; fmarshal@wustl.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Donkeys facilitated trade and transport in much of the ancient world, but were seldom used in elite or leisure activities. While Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) texts indicate that noble women played polo riding donkeys, this has never been documented archaeologically. Here, the authors present the first archaeological evidence of the significance of donkeys for elite Tang women through analyses of donkey remains recovered from the tomb of a Tang noblewoman in Xi'an, China. These findings broaden our understanding of the donkey's historic roles beyond simple load bearing.

Keywords

ChinaXi'anTang Dynastyzooarchaeologydonkeyspolo
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 374 , April 2020 , pp. 455 - 472
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alkhateeb-Shehada, H. 2008. Donkeys and mules in Arabic veterinary sources from the Mamlūk Period (7th–10th/13th–16th century). Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean 20: 207–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110802283424CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambrose, S.H. 1990. Preparation and characterization of bone and tooth collagen for isotopic analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 17: 431–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(90)90007-RCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bar-Oz, G., Nahshoni, P., Motro, H. & Oren, E.D.. 2013. Symbolic metal bit and saddlebag fastenings in a Middle Bronze Age donkey burial. PLoS ONE 8: e58648. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058648CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, I.L. 1998. Species identification of equids from Western European archaeological deposits: methodologies, techniques and problems, in Anderson, S. & Boyle, K. (ed.) Current and recent research in osteoarchaeology: 3–17. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Biewener, A.A. & Taylor, C.. 1986. Bone strain: a determinant of gait and speed? Journal of Experimental Biology 123: 383–400.Google ScholarPubMed
Chehabi, H.E. & Guttmann, A.. 2002. From Iran to all of Asia: the origin and diffusion of polo. International Journal of the History of Sport 19: 384–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/714001752CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L. 2007. A study on donkey management and the use of Tang donkeys. Unpublished MA dissertation, Jinan University (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Clutton-Brock, J. 2001. Ritual burials of a dog and six domestic donkey, in Oates, D., Oates, J. & McDonald, H. (ed.) Excavations at Tell Brak. Volume 2: Nagar in the third millennium BC: 327–38. Cambridge: McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M.J. 1985. Postmortem preservation and alteration of in vivo bone collagen isotope ratios in relation to palaeodietary reconstruction. Nature 317: 806–809. https://doi.org/10.1038/317806a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von den Driesch, A. 1976. A guide to the measurement of animal bones from archaeological sites. Harvard (MA): Peabody Museum.Google Scholar
Eckfield, T. 2005. Imperial tombs in Tang China, 618–907: the politics of paradise. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203086766CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenmann, V. 1986. Comparative osteology of modem and fossil horses: half-asses and asses, in Meadow, R.H. & Uerpmann, H.-P. (ed.) Equids in the ancient world: 67–116. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Riecherd.Google Scholar
Eisenmann, V. & Beckouche, S.. 1986. Identification and discrimination of metapodials from Pleistocene and modern Equus, wild and domestic, in Meadow, R.H. & Uerpmann, H.-P. (ed.) Equids in the ancient world: 117–63. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Riecherd.Google Scholar
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 2018. Domestic animal diversity information system (DAD-IS): China, species ass. Available at http://www.fao.org/dad-is/browse-by-country-and-species/en (accessed 14 January 2020).Google Scholar
Greenfield, H.J., Shai, I. & Maeir, A.. 2012. Being an ‘ass’: an Early Bronze Age burial of a donkey from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel. Bioarchaeology of the Near East 6: 21–52.Google Scholar
Greenfield, H.J., Shai, I., Greenfield, T.L., Arnold, E.R., Brown, A., Eliyahu, A. & Maeir, A.M.. 2018. Earliest evidence for equid bit wear in the ancient Near East: the ‘ass’ from Early Bronze Age Telleṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel. PLoS ONE 13: e0196335. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196335CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, C., Liu, C. & Wang, Q.. 2001. Brief textual research on several court games in the Tang Dynasty of China. Journal of Northwest University (Social Science) 31: 78–81 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Han, L. et al. 2014. Ancient DNA provides new insight into the maternal lineages and domestication of Chinese donkeys. BMC Evolutionary Biology 14: 246. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0246-4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hanot, P., Guintard, C., Lepetz, S. & Cornette, R.. 2017. Identifying domestic horses, donkeys and hybrids from archaeological deposits: a 3D morphological investigation on skeletons. Journal of Archaeological Science 78: 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.12.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, Z. & Yang, Z.. 1981. The study of donkey age determination based on the principles of the teeth occurrence, turnover and wear. Journal of Henan University of Science and Technology (Agricultural Science) 7: 48–53 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Hu, X. & Han, J.. 2001. Authentication of true and fake Chinese pottery figurines. Hefei, Anhui Science and Technology Press: 110 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Li, C., Li, J. & Xia, Y.. 2009. History of Chinese polo. Lanzhou: Gansu Education Press (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Liu, J.T. 1985. Polo and cultural change: from Tang to Sung China. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 45: 203–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, L. & Ma, X.. 2017. The zooarchaeology of Neolithic China, in Albarella, U., Rizzetto, M., Russ, H., Vickers, K. & Viner-Daniels, S. (ed.) The Oxford handbook of zooarchaeology: 304–18. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686476.013.20Google Scholar
Lu, N. 2016. Research on the situation and reasons for female sports activities in the Tang Dynasty. Unpublished MA dissertation, Jiangxi Normal University (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Marshall, F. 2007. African pastoral perspectives on domestication of the donkey, in Denham, T., Iriarte, J. & Vrydaghs, L. (ed.) Rethinking agriculture: archaeological and ethnoarchaeological perspectives: 371–407. Walnut Creek (CA): Left Coast.Google Scholar
Marshall, F. & Asa, C.. 2013. A study of African wild ass behavior provides insights into conservation issues, domestication processes and archaeological interpretation. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 20: 479–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-012-9165-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meng, S. 2012. Leisure sports of women in the Tang Dynasty. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Lanzhou University of Technology (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Mitchell, P. 2018. The donkey in human history: an archaeological perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Navas González, F.J., Vidal, J. Jordana, Jurado, J.M. León, McLean, A.K., Inostroza, G. Pizarro & Bermejo, J.V. Delgado. 2018. Genetic parameter estimation and implementation of the genetic evaluation for gaits in a breeding program for assisted-therapy in donkeys. Veterinary Research Communications 42: 101–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-018-9712-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, S.L., Grant, S., Choyke, A. & Bartosiewicz, L. (ed.). 2006. Horses and humans: the evolution of the human-equine relationship (British Archaeological Reports International series 1560). Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Payne, S. 1991. Early Holocene equids from Tall-i-Mushki (Iran) and Can Hasan III (Turkey), in Meadow, R.H. & Uerpmann, H.-P. (ed.) Equids in the ancient world, volume II: 132–64. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Riecherd.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J. et al. 2009. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50 000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51: 1111–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200034202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenbom, S., Costa, V., Al-Araimi, N., Kefena, E., Abdel-Moneim, A.S., Abdalla, M.A., Bakhiet, A. & Beja-Pereira, A.. 2015. Genetic diversity of donkey populations from the putative centers of domestication. Animal Genetics 46: 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/age.12256CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rossel, S., Marshall, F., Peters, J., Pilgram, T., Adams, M.D. & O'Connor, D.. 2008. Domestication of the donkey: timing, processes, and indicators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 105: 3715–20. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709692105CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shackelford, L., Marshall, F. & Peters, J.. 2013. Identifying donkey domestication through changes in cross-sectional geometry of long bones. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 4170–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shev, E.T. 2016. The introduction of the domesticated horse in Southwest Asia. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 44: 123–36. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2016.44.1.123-136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Donkey Sanctuary. n.d. Understanding donkey behavior. Available at: https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk (accessed 15 January 2020).Google Scholar
Wang, Z. 2013. The introduction of mules, donkeys, camels and horses to central China: on the topic of Han zooarchaeology and Silk Road history. Guoxue Xuekan 4: 37–43 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Wang, Z. 2016. Taipusi, leading department of animal husbandry in the Tang Dynasty. Agricultural Archaeology 4: 166–69 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Wei, P.P., Wallace, I.J., Jashashvili, T., Musiba, C.M. & Liu, W.. 2017. Structural analysis of the femoral diaphyses of an early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, China. Quaternary International 434: 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.099CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, S.B., Tan, H., Usherwood, R.J. & Wilson, A.M.. 2009. Pitch then power: limitations to acceleration in quadrupeds. Biology Letters 5: 610–13. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0360CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xi'an Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Archaeology. 2018. The excavation of the tomb of Mme Cui, the mistress of Boling Commandery of the Tang Dynasty in Qujiang, Xi'an. Wenwu 8: 4–22 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Xia, Q. 2015. Research on Chinese female sports culture management. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Shandong University (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Xia, Y., Zhang, J., Yu, F., Zhang, H., Wang, T., Hu, Y. & Fuller, B.T.. 2018. Breastfeeding, weaning, and dietary practices during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1122–771 BC) at Boyangcheng, Anhui Province, China. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 165: 343–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23358CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yuan, J. 2007. Zooarchaeology reveals the relationship between ancient humans and animals, in Key Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Studies and Protection Techniques of Ministry of Education & Research Center of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology of Norwest University (ed.) Xibu Kaogu (2nd edition): 183–87. Xi'an: Sanqin (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zheng, X. 2017. Brief discussion of some questions regarding the tomb of Mme Cui, the mistress of Boling Commandery of the Tang Dynasty at Qujiang in Xi'an. Wenbo 3: 27–32 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zheng, X. 2018. Exploration of the family of Bao Gao, the Jiedushi of Jinyuan and Zhenhai in the late Tang Dynasty based on the epitaph in the tomb of Mme Cui, the mistress of Boling Commandery of the Tang Dynasty at Qujiang in Xi'an. Wenwu 6: 66–71 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zhu, T. 1995. Animals as transportation power during the Tang Dynasty from the perspective of unearthed artifacts (in Chinese), in Museum of Shaanxi History (ed.) National Museum of Shaanxi History (volume 2): 183–87. Xi'an: Sanqing.Google Scholar