Historical contingency and pig domestication: 5000 years of Sus scrofa procurement in northeastern China

This study examines shifts in Sus scrofa procurement strategies from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the West Liao River Basin (WLRB) in northeastern China. Combining S. scrofa mortality data with isotopic dietary analysis from Xinglongwa, Xinglonggou, Caomaoshan, and Dadianzi, we trace a transition from social hunting in the early Neolithic to a hybrid system of hunting and small-scale herd management in the Late Neolithic, culminating in intensive pig husbandry supported by agricultural foddering by the Bronze Age. Our findings reveal how S. scrofa procurement was embedded within evolving economic and social systems, showing how human- S. scrofa relationships changed and became more entangled over the course of 5000 years. This study offers the most comprehensive diachronic account of human- S. scrofa relationships in the WLRB, demonstrating how transgenerational cultural inheritance and systems of social organization shaped human-animal mutualisms over time. The results highlight historical contingency in domestication processes, illustrating the interplay between economic practices, subsistence strategies, and evolving human-animal interactions.