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Since the early 2000's, archaeological excavations in the Nenjiang River Basin have led to the discovery of some of the oldest pottery assemblages in northeast China. The main objective of the DPhil research presented here is to understand what role vessel technology played in human lives over an extended time span regarding diets, food preferences, and human environmental interactions in this region. Pottery analysed in this thesis comes from the site of Houtaomuga 后套木嘎 located in the Lower Nen River Valley on the Song-Nen Plain, Jilin province northeast China. Using molecular and isotopic analysis, this thesis characterised lipids extracted from archaeological pottery using advanced analytical methodologies to understand pottery use at the initial implementation of the technology and over the course of the Neolithic. Results of lipid residue analysis presented as a part of this research were also described in context with other regions in northeast Asia, such as Russia's Far East and Japan, which also have pottery bearing hunter-gather sites from the Neolithic which are contemporaneous. Before turning to the analysis of the archaeological material from Houtaomuga, this thesis undertook a method optimisation to understand the efficiency and limitations of current techniques. This method development ensures that the method of analysis was adequate to answer proposed research questions prior to sampling and will improve upon methods for lipid residue analysis which are currently standard practice within archaeological science. As a result, this thesis presents the first extensive application of non-destructive supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of ancient lipid residues followed by isotopic characterisation. Results indicate this novel method workflow is comparable to current methods which are highly destructive to ceramic artifacts. By using this workflow, it was determined that pottery at Houtaomuga was primarily used for cooking aquatic molluscs and C3 plant resources. While other proxies indicate that human diets at Houtaomuga were highly diverse, pottery use was highly specified for all four phases of Neolithic occupation of the site, suggesting people preferentially chose certain foods or dish types to prepare in vessels.

This study investigates the transfer of technological knowledge in production of the Neolithic Majiayao-style pottery (5300-4000 cal yr BP) on the territories of the modern Chinese provinces Gansu and Qinghai. The Majiayao-style pottery includes fine painted ware and coarse cord-impressed ware. Both wares of the Majiayao style were widely distributed across different river valleys located hundreds of kilometres away from each other. This study investigates whether there are similarities in production technology of the Majiayao-style beyond the shape and decoration and addresses communication and connectivity of prehistoric people living in the Tao River, Huangshui River, and the Yellow River valleys. The methods of macroscopic examination, ceramic petrography and experimental firing of raw materials were used to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of the Majiayao-style pottery from sites in three river valleys. The results of this study revealed similarities in raw materials and techniques for making this pottery in different locations indicating common technological knowledge that could have been disseminated among potters. The combination of macroscopic and microscopic analyses has shown that there are patterns in connection between coarse and fine clay pastes with specific decoration and firing atmospheres. The observations suggest that beside the technological knowledge, the production of Majiayao-style pottery also required specific social knowledge to connect outer appearance of the Majiayao style with the production materials and techniques.

This thesis studies group identities among inhabitants of the western frontiers of the State and Empire of Qin during the 7th to 3rd centuries BC. The inhabitants are known to us through the Chinese historical records and their tombs found in eastern Gansu Province and southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Based on descriptions in Chinese historical records, it has generally been believed that the inhabitants were conquered and assimilated by the Zhou (1045-221 BC) and Qin (221-206 BC) Dynasties, a process represented by, for example, the wheeled vehicles and ritual vessels found in their tombs. This thesis offers a new reading of the inhabitants' identities, arguing that they retained distinctive local identity that was closely related to others expressed by people living in the Eurasian steppe, as a way to cope with the difficult geopolitical situation. Meanwhile, the inhabitants served the Qin State and Empire as mercenaries rather than subjects. This is demonstrated through analysis of the Chinese historical sources and a contextual approach to archaeological remains. The textual analysis is used to highlight the usefulness of available historical texts in understanding the period. On this basis, similarities and variations between the material remains of the inhabitants of eastern Gansu, southern Ningxia, and the steppe people are established. The analysis also contextualises Zhou and Qin type weapons and ritual vessels that have been discovered in the tombs. These artefacts reveal the role inhabitants of eastern Gansu and southern Ningxia played as Qin mercenaries. The discussion incorporates identification of steppe, Achaemenid, and Hellenistic traits in the material assemblage that are suggested to have been transmitted to Qin through this border region, showing reciprocal relationships between the two groups. In addition to presenting an alternative approach to understanding identities on the western frontier of Qin during the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, this thesis redraws the political map of the region.