Zongri type-site (Layer 3)
Basic information
Sample name: Zongri type-site (Layer 3)

Reference: L. Ren, G. Dong, F. Liu, J. D'alpoim-Guedes, R. K. Flad, M. Ma, H. Li, Y. Yang, Y. Liu, D. Zhang, G. Li, J. Li, and F. Chen. 2020. Foraging and farming: archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological evidence for Neolithic exchange on the Tibetan Plateau. Antiquity 94(375):637-652 [ER 3369]
Geography
Country: China

State: Qinghai


County: Tongde County


Coordinate: 35° 25' N, 100° 20' E
Coordinate basis: estimated from map

Time interval: Holocene

Section: 3369

Unit number: 3

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.00391

Min Ma: 0.00386

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: Site is one of many located "in the eastern Gonghe Basin of the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, all located above 2600m asl"
"Ten charred millet seeds were selected from three cultural layers and two ash pits... for AMS radiocarbon dating"
Layer 3 radiocarbon dates range from 3910 to 3860 BP (2390-2335 cal. B.C.) "at 95.4% confidence"

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: human accumulation

Archaeology: bone tools,burials,ceramics,hearths,stone tools,other artifacts

Habitat comments: Site was "first investigated in 1982 by the Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology... yielded two burials and a pottery kiln" Further excavations conducted between 1994 and 1996 "uncovered a total of 341 tombs, 18 ash pits and 18 sacrificial pits, and over 30 000 artefacts, including ceramic sherds, lithics, animal remains and bone objects"

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,birds

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 185 specimens

Sampling comments: "In 2015, we excavated a small trench measuring 4 × 4m at the Zongri type-site, identifying three distinct cultural layers"
"Systematic archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological sampling was conducted for all features and layers encountered in the trench: 92 soil samples were taken... which contained 4150 charred plant seeds and 3132 fragments of animal bone"
"fragments of animal bones were floated from soil samples"

Metadata
Sample number: 3732

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2021-05-15 14:22:51

Modified: 2023-04-29 02:52:07

Abundance distribution
11 species
0 singletons
total count 185
geometric series index: 13.9
Fisher's α: 2.562
geometric series k: 0.6717
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.6303
Shannon's H: 1.5034
Good's u: 1.0000
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Canis lupus familiaris343 kg carnivore
"Canis familiaris"
Bos sp.4
Cervus elaphus18142 kg browser-grazer
Capreolus pygargus4
"Capreolus capreolus"
Moschus sp.9
Caprinae indet.107
Procapra gutturosa430 kg
Marmota bobak25
also 1 Rodentia indet.
Lepus sp.2
Panthera sp.3
also 5 Felidae indet.
Aves indet.6