Dietary Reconstruction of Migrant Populations in the Core Region of Early China

This study focuses on 91 human individuals from the Western Zhou period excavated from the Jucun cemetery in Jiang County, southern Shanxi Province, and examines their dietary structure and its changes within the context of population movements in early China. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was employed, combined with archaeological phase divisions, to compare dietary patterns across different periods. The results show that the Jucun population exhibits a diet dominated by C4 resources, with a mean δ13C value of −8.0 ± 0.7‰ and a mean δ15N value of 8.6 ± 0.9‰, indicating a relatively low level of animal protein intake. Diachronic analysis indicates that δ13C values remain generally stable throughout the Western Zhou period, whereas δ15N values show a decreasing trend. Regional comparison further shows that populations of different origins all fall within the isotopic range characterized by millet-based agriculture in southern Shanxi. Overall, the dietary structure of this population exhibits a convergence toward an agriculture-based pattern centered on millet. This study provides bioarchaeological evidence for subsistence transformation and cultural integration among mobile populations in the Central Plains during the Western Zhou period.