Provisioning and pastoralism along the Mongolian medieval border system: Analysis of Liao and Jin era midden faunal assemblages

Between the 10th and 13th centuries CE, several border lines were constructed in the steppe and desert regions of northeastern China and Mongolia. This paper examines zooarchaeological evidence relating to the ways of life of the people who maintained two of these border systems: the northern line dates to the Liao period (915–1125), and the southeastern line (the Mongolian Arc) date to the Jin empire (1115–1234). Excavations between 2022–2024 at Site 23 on the northern wall and MA03 on the southeastern wall addressed the function of those sites, the border systems they were part of, and the daily life of the people living there. Unique and well-preserved faunal assemblages were found at both sites. Fauna from non-ritual contexts in Mongolia has rarely been systematically excavated, especially during the medieval period. Therefore, these two faunal assemblages provide a unique opportunity for detailed analysis of economic practices, subsistence and pastoral activities associated with border systems. It also provides an opportunity for comparison between two subsequent periods. The Site 23 assemblage comes from a midden and represents the flexible economic habits of the site's inhabitants, combining pastoralism and provisioning, with hunting and fishing. Cattle were likely provisioned, while sheep and horses were raised locally, based on skeletal element presence and age profiles. Domestic dogs and small numbers of wild fauna- gazelle, badger and catfish- were also present. The smaller assemblage from the southern wall site MA03 consists of fauna from a feature with a stone-built heating platform (kang), mainly domestic species. Comparison between the faunal assemblages and their respective contexts reveals the varied subsistence practices utilized in two areas united by the construction of the long wall system.