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Intermarriage and ancient polity alliances: isotopic evidence of cross-regional female exogamy during the Longshan period (2500–1900 BC)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2023

Xiaotong Wu ,
Zhiyong Guo ,
Nu He ,
Shijie Zhao ,
Yanxin Li ,
Huimin Yu ,
Fang Huang  and
Xingxiang Zhang
Xiaotong Wu
Affiliation:
School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing, P.R. China USTC Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China
Zhiyong Guo
Affiliation:
Shanxi Museum, Taiyuan, Shanxi, P.R. China
Nu He
Affiliation:
The Institute of Archaeology of CASS, Beijing, P.R. China
Shijie Zhao
Affiliation:
USTC Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China
Yanxin Li
Affiliation:
Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, P.R. China
Huimin Yu
Affiliation:
CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China
Fang Huang
Affiliation:
CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China
Xingxiang Zhang*
Affiliation:
USTC Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P.R. China
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ zhangxx@ustc.edu.cn
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Abstract

The late third-millennium BC Longshan period was a crucial time for state formation in central China. During these centuries, long-distance networks expanded and shared material culture and then cultural practices spread across wider areas precipitating social and ideological developments that presaged the rise of states and cities on the Central Plain. In this research, the authors use multiple (strontium, oxygen and carbon) isotope analyses from the dental enamel of 67 individuals buried at the Xiajin cemetery, Shanxi Province. The results indicate significant long-distance migration among females during the Longshan period, which the authors interpret as evidence of exogamous marriage for political alliance-building—a phenomenon found more widely across Eurasia at the start of the Bronze Age.

Keywords

central ChinaNeolithicBronze AgeTaosi cultureburialisotopic analysismigrationexogamy
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 98 , Issue 397 , February 2024 , pp. 48 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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