A Multidisciplinary Reconstruction and Reassessment of the Role of Fishing, Hunting, and Gathering Economies in Prehistoric Arid Xinjiang, Northwestern China

Research on adaptive strategies in extreme environments is crucial for understanding the resilience of human survival wisdom. This study integrates multidisciplinary evidence from archaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, isotopic, and geochemical analysis to reassess the role of fishing, hunting, and gathering economies in prehistoric arid Xinjiang, northwestern China. Our findings reveal that, spatially, fishing concentrated in the Lop Nur region of the Tarim Basin, with potential activities extending to the surrounding river basins across the Altai, Tianshan, Pamir, and Kunlun mountains; hunting was more developed in Northern Xinjiang (focusing on deer and bovids) while practiced on a smaller scale in Southern Xinjiang (targeting hares); gathering also exhibited north–south divergence in plant utilization. Temporally, these economies declined from a dominant Paleolithic strategy to a supplementary role in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. However, resilient local adaptations persisted—notably at Lop Nur (fishing), Xiaxingguang cemetery (specialized hare hunting), and the Eastern Tianshan region (high-proportion gathering). Beyond subsistence, these practices were deeply embedded in spiritual life, reflected in totemic symbols and shamanic ritual paraphernalia.This study re-evaluates prehistoric extractive economies, providing critical insights into human adaptation strategies in arid to semi-arid environments.