Xinjiang, located in central Eurasia, is well known for cultural exchanges between the East and West. Its strategic location and complex natural environment have paved the way for diverse subsistence strategies. This makes it an important area for exploration of ancient human activities, and cultural developments in Eurasia. A large number of stone artifacts from the Neolithic to Bronze Age were unearthed here, but little is known about their functionality. The artifacts resemble used in the Andronovo culture and widely distributed in the Eurasian steppe, were less understood in China. Therefore, this study aims to discover the functionality of ancient stone artifacts unearthed in Xinjiang by using phytolith and starch grain analyses.
The types of the stone artifacts excavated from Ili region at Jratai Pass site(43.84°N, 82.77°E; 3600~3000 cal.a B.P.)and selected for examination were pestle, cake-shaped stone tool, and slab. 48 ancient starches from the tribe Triticeae(probably wheat and barley), roots and tubers were recovered from the tool surfaces. Among the 775 phytoliths recovered from stone tools, millet comprised 9% of the phytolith assemblage. Additionally, phytoliths and tissue residues of snake gourd(Trichosanthes)pericarp were extracted from the surface of a pestle.
Combinating the results from ancient starches and phytoliths recovered from the stone slab, pestles and cake-shaped stones from the Jartai Pass site, the data suggests that stone slab and pestles were probably used for grinding wheat, barley, roots and tubers. Moreover, pestles were probably used for dehusking millets, and processing snake gourds; Cake-shaped stones at the Jartai Pass site were classified into two morphological types:chipped stone tools, probably combined with slabs-were used for grinding roots and tubers(such as snake gourd), and polished stone tools with a little micro-remains of millet-were used for threshing grains.
This study provides a basis for understanding the function of stone tools unearthed from archaeological sites in Ili Valley, Xinjiang, especially with the characteristics of Andronovo Culture. Moreover, the discovery of starches and phytoliths supplements studies based on plant macro-remains. Hence, we gain a better understanding of the livelihood model of the society of Andronovo Culture.