**5. Results**

Sample information and the δ13C and δ15N values for humans and animals are presented in Tables 2 and 3. Given the work at the Xiaohucun site was a rescue excavation, and many tombs were looted, we fully acknowledge that the number of humans available for study was relatively small, but this collection serves as a pilot study and the first opportunity to gain a glimpse into possible isotopic dietary di fferences related to status during the late Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250–1046 BC) in the Central Plains of China.

#### *5.1. Faunal Isotope Results*

In Figure 3 the isotopic results of the humans and animals are presented. The δ13C values for pigs (n = 5), dogs (n = 2), cow (n = 1), sheep/goa<sup>t</sup> (n = 1) range from −6.7% to <sup>−</sup>11.6%, which indicates that all of these animals had a diet predominately, if not exclusively, based on C4 dietary protein sources. Past archaeological and isotopic research has revealed that millet agriculture was important to the residents of the Central Plains [1,28,77,78,85], and that the livestock were mostly consuming millet or its byproducts during the Shang Dynasty [39]. In contrast to the domestic animals, the two deer had δ13C values that indicated either a mixed C3/C4 (−15.0%) or exclusive C3 (−20.5%) diet. The finding of a deer with the mixed diet is interesting as this could sugges<sup>t</sup> that this animal lived near the settlement and grazed on the millet fields or that it was possibly kept as pet. Similar results for deer were found at the Xia Dynasty (2070–1600 BC) site of Xinzhai, also in Henan Provence, and these 13C-enriched deer were thought to have been possibly raised for the purposes of hunting by the elites of the society [86]. The dog (8.1%), pig (7.9 ± 0.9%), and sheep/goa<sup>t</sup> (7.5%) all had similar δ15N values, suggesting feeding at a similar trophic level, whereas the deer (6.3%) and cow (5.7%) were lower. However, this site was closed to the Yellow river, so we could not eliminate the possibility of ingesting freshwater or marine fish resources by human.

**Figure 3.** δ13C and δ15N results for humans from the Xiaohucun site and animals from the Guandimiao site Henan Province, China.

#### *5.2. Human Isotope Results*

The human δ13C results range from −15.2% to −6.4% and show that most individuals had a predominately C4 diet based on millet (Figure 3). The exception was individual M30 (−15.2%) who had a mixed C3/C4 diet that was likely a combination of rice and/or wheat and millet [79,87]. The human δ15N results range from 6.7% to 12.8%, indicating there was likely significant individual variation in the consumption of protein at the site. A comparison of the human and faunal isotopes values indicate that pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep/goats were all likely dietary protein sources, while deer played a minor role (Figure 3). Thus, the diet of the individuals was predominately millet based with some possible inputs of rice and/or wheat, but there were large differences in δ15N values that we ascribe to variations in animal protein consumption, as discussed in the next section.
