Extravagant and modest: a zooarchaeological comparison of horse exploitation strategies in the Central Plain and Aletai, North China (1250 - 221 BC)

Horses were a symbol of social prestige in human society because of their speed and strength. This talk focuses on the relationship between human and domesticated horses during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1250-221BC) in two Chinese regions: the agricultural Central Plain and the nomadic Aletai (northern Xinjiang). The two regions practiced different horse herd strategies. For example, sacrificed horses in the Central Plain had a wider age range from young to old, while a concentrated range between 10-20 years old in Aletai. From the perspective of nomads, killing subadults and thus sacrificing was unsustainable and even extravagant. How did these phenomena reflect a changing social connection between the two regions? This talk explores various horse exploitation strategies in North China and the development of horse utilizations in agricultural society through a study of two archaeological sites: Shangang in the Central Plain and Kalasu in Aletai.      

Yue (Julie) You is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Capital Normal University (China). She received her PhD in 2012 from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She is also a visiting scholar at the Stanford Archaeology Center in 2019. Her major research interests include the origin, spread and utilization of domesticated animals in North China, interregional cultural communications between the Central Plain and Xinjiang before the formation of Silk Road.