During the late Neolithic, the number of pottery cups unearthed in the Central Plains of China increased, yet their function remained unclear. This study investigates the functions of pottery vessels from the Shuanghuaishu site, dating to the late Yangshao to early Longshan periods (ca. 5200–4500 cal BP), using starch grain, phytolith, fungal, and organic acid analyses. The results suggest that jiandiping were not typical vessels for brewing or consuming alcohol, while the emerging pottery cups were used for drinking alcoholic beverages. Ingredients used in brewing included millets, rice, Job’s tears, Triticeae, tubers, and legumes. The form and function of the cups may have been influenced by the Dawenkou Culture and introduced to support feasting and ritual activities. These findings reveal a significant phase in drinking practices in the Central Plains around 5000 BP, reflecting both intensified regional interaction and growing ritual needs of complex societies during the late Neolithic.

The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynasty in China. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a ditch containing approximately one hundred unusual dead human skulls in the rammed-earth foundations of the palace area. The identity and origin of the skulls have long been disputed. In this work, strontium, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were carried out on 11 human skulls and 1 tooth from the ditch, as well as on 11 human bones, 11 human teeth from the ordinary tombs and 10 pig teeth from the Zhengzhou Shang City site. We determined that, in Zhengzhou Shang City, the local strontium isotope ratio ranges from 0.711606 to 0.711884, and ordinary inhabitants consumed mainly C₄ plants supplemented by C₃ plants. Moreover, humans buried in the ditch have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from 0.711335 to 0.711741 and consumed only C₄ plants. Combining the isotopic data with the archaeological and cultural context, it is concluded that the unusual human skulls in the ditch are most likely those of prisoners of war captured by the central forces conquering the Xiaomintun area of Anyang in the early Shang Dynasty. The results provide valuable insight into the history of violence and military warfare in the early Chinese dynasty.

Coix lacryma-jobi L. (Job’s tears, adlay, yiyi 薏苡in Chinese) is a tropical member of the Poaceae family which is widely grown in southeast Asia for its grain, as medicine and for beads. However, archaeobotanical evidence of Coix from macrofossils or phytoliths remains limited, and the varieties used in ancient China have yet to be identified through research. In this study, the remains of involucral bracts of Coix from two Han Dynasty tombs (2004CSX Tomb M110 and RNSM Tomb M1, dated to around 2,100 cal bp) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, were examined. Macrobotanical analysis suggested they were C. lacryma-jobi , and phytolith analysis further confirmed their identification as C. lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi . This is the first report to successfully identify ancient remains of this plant to variety level from phytoliths. The findings provide new insight into the cultural significance of Coix in Han Dynasty funerary customs and demonstrate the potential of phytolith analysis for the identification of taxa from archaeological contexts to variety.