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From pack animals to polo: donkeys from the ninth-century Tang tomb of an elite lady in Xi'an, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Songmei Hu ,
Yaowu Hu ,
Junkai Yang ,
Miaomiao Yang ,
Pianpian Wei ,
Yemao Hou  and
Fiona B. Marshall
Songmei Hu
Affiliation:
Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Yaowu Hu*
Affiliation:
Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Fudan University, P.R. China Institute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, P.R. China Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China
Junkai Yang
Affiliation:
Xi'an Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Miaomiao Yang
Affiliation:
Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, Xi'an, P.R. China
Pianpian Wei
Affiliation:
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, P.R. China
Yemao Hou
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China
Fiona B. Marshall*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, USA
*
*Authors for correspondence: ✉ ywhu@ucas.ac.cn; fmarshal@wustl.edu
*Authors for correspondence: ✉ ywhu@ucas.ac.cn; fmarshal@wustl.edu
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Abstract

Donkeys facilitated trade and transport in much of the ancient world, but were seldom used in elite or leisure activities. While Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) texts indicate that noble women played polo riding donkeys, this has never been documented archaeologically. Here, the authors present the first archaeological evidence of the significance of donkeys for elite Tang women through analyses of donkey remains recovered from the tomb of a Tang noblewoman in Xi'an, China. These findings broaden our understanding of the donkey's historic roles beyond simple load bearing.

Keywords

ChinaXi'anTang Dynastyzooarchaeologydonkeyspolo
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 374 , April 2020 , pp. 455 - 472
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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