BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have investigated the lives of nobles from the Qin state during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, providing new insights into ancient Chinese social hierarchy, dietary customs and cultural integration.

Details of the study have been published in Heritage Science, an international journal. The work was conducted by a research team led by associate professor Shang Xue at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology.

The research team investigated two noble tombs -- one of a male noble, and one of a female noble -- and the burial sites of two accompanying sacrificial victims in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, employing advanced techniques such as high-precision stable isotope analysis and starch grain examination in dental calculus.

The study revealed that the male noble had consumed millet as his staple food, with a significantly higher meat intake compared to the sacrificial victims and commoners of his time. This corroborates our current understanding of ancient China's social hierarchy: meat-eaters were nobles.

The female noble had a unique dietary trajectory. She consumed more wheat or rice-based foods during her childhood, yet adapted to the local millet-dominated diet in adulthood while maintaining a relatively low level of meat consumption.

Analysis indicates that the noblewoman spent her childhood in a warmer, more humid environment. The researchers inferred that she was likely a noble bride from a feudal state in eastern or southern China -- an example of the political marriages characteristic of the Spring and Autumn Period.

The study also found that noble Qin children were weaned around the age of 3, which is consistent with records in the ancient Chinese classic, "Book of Rites." In contrast, sacrificial victims were weaned significantly earlier, reflecting a status-based disparity.

Additionally, dietary shifts during adolescence aligned with societal roles. Male nobles had fluctuating high levels of meat consumption as they neared military service age -- potentially linked to martial activities -- while female nobles transitioned toward local diets after about the age of 7.

This research not only deciphers the sociocultural code behind food consumption in ancient China, but also provides innovative methodologies for the exploration of the courses of individual lives over the country's long history, according to Shang.