Reconstruction of Landscape Conditions of Livestock Breeding in Western Transbaikalia during the Xiongnu Era Based on the Isotopic Composition of Animal Bones

The species composition and isotopic characteristics of bone and dental tissues from zooarchaeological collections of Xiongnu sites (Early Iron Age) in Western Transbaikalia have been studied. The presence of bones of small ruminants, cattle, and horses among sacred burial utensils indicates a high proportion of the nomadic way of life in the life of the Xiongnu. At the same time, the remains of domestic pigs, wild animals, and fish are evidence of elements of a sedentary lifestyle, hunting, and fishing. It is revealed that the difference in the isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen of the bones and teeth of the remains of small ruminants and cattle from the composition of the remains of horses suggests a differentiation in the conditions of their breeding. It is found that cattle were grazed in dry steppe conditions, while horse pastures covered steppe and forest-steppe/forest landscapes. The heavier carbon isotope composition of the remains of pigs and dogs indicates the presence of C4-type plants (probably millet) in their diet. Based on a comparison of the values of the isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen in the bones and teeth of fossil ungulates and modern ecosystems, it is concluded that, during the Xiongnu era, dry steppes dominated in the intermountain depressions of the southern part of Western Transbaikalia, and open landscapes were somewhat more widespread than at present. The Xiongnu sites in Western Transbaikalia (4th century BC to the 1st century AD) date to the decline of the Xiongnu nomadic empire and are associated with the time of the climatic shift in Northern Mongolia and Transbaikalia towards aridity, which occurred at the beginning of the Subatlantic period 2500–1900 years ago.