Reconstructing Aquatic Resource Use and the Slow Transition to Farming in Middle Neolithic Southern China

YU Dong1*, QIU Yuxuan1, HU Yingfang2, and ZHU Xiaoting2

Aquatic resources represent a stable and high-protein subsistence base for societies spanning the transition from foraging to early agriculture. Determining whether these resources were utilized extensively or opportunistically is essential for reconstructing ancient labour investment and resource management strategies. This study presents the stable isotope analysis results of human and faunal remains from Dongtantou site, a Middle Neolithic site in southern China. Our results indicate that aquatic resources constituted a significant and consistent component of the local diet. These findings suggest that despite the presence of early cultivars, the "Neolithic Package" did not immediately displace traditional foraging practices. Instead, a persistent reliance on aquatic ecosystems highlights a more protracted and mosaic-like transition to a fully sedentary farming system than previously modelled.