| Abstract: |
Water buffalo widely inhabited China during the Holocene and their bones have been found in many Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, especially concentrated around the lower Yangzi River region. Most have been identified as Bubalus mephistopheles, and are regarded as a domesticated form, but this claim has not been systematically tested. We recently conducted a preliminary study of some of the earliest water buffalo remains unearthed from three Neolithic sites in Zhejiang dating from 6000 to 3400 cal. BC. In this study, we mainly focus on the newly excavated Kuahuqiao remains, but also examine partial buffalo assemblages from Hemudu and Luojiajiao, which have been published before (Wei et al. 1990, Zhang 1981). The project aims to identify the Kuahuqiao buffalo population by species, to understand age profiles at the time the buffaloes were killed at these three sites, and to determine whether or not the Neolithic buffaloes in Zhejiang were domesticated.
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