Sharing food may be a more important tool in assimilation than we think, according to new research.

A study by archaeologists in Shanghai has found that shared food was the primary engine of assimilation for nomadic tribes migrating into central China 1500 years ago.

The researchers, from Fudan University, found evidence that suggests shared food was the main driver of assimilation for nomadic tribes migrating into central China over a thousand years ago.

Today, more than 90 per cent of China’s population identifies as Han Chinese, despite many centuries of upheaval.

But during the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, between AD304 and AD439, northern China saw a time of intense political fragmentation and conflict. It was also a pivotal period in the formation of the Chinese national identity.

“In China’s history, the most fundamental manifestation of ethnic assimilation lies in the recognition and development of the agrarian culture by these minority groups who migrated inland,” said Dr Hu Yaowu, one of the researchers.

“This constitutes the bedrock of the Chinese nation’s continuous formation,” Dr Hu added.

The research shows a mainstay of the diet at the time was millet-based foods or animals fed on their by-products, supplemented by grains including wheat and rice.

The researchers used carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on human bone samples from 25 people whose remains were unearthed from tombs in Xian, the capital of China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province.

Published recently in journal Science China Earth Sciences, the study shows that during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the “Five Hu” groups – five northern nomadic tribes – migrated into the Central Plains and established several settlements, initiating the first wave of ethnic migration and integration in Chinese history.

At the time, the Guanzhong region, within present-day central Shaanxi province, was home to many nomads.

With this historical backdrop in mind, the researchers examined the dietary changes of ancient nomadic groups to understand how they adapted to an agricultural lifestyle.

“Revealing the integration between the nomadic pastoralists from the northern steppe and the agriculturalists in the Central Plains has always been key to exploring the formation and development of the Chinese national community,” the study report says.

The isotopic bioarchaeological research on the bones revealed the food being eaten.

The research revealed a significantly higher intake of millet-based foods in their diet.

It showed this pattern intensified as people migrated southwards to central China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, when they had “fully adapted to an agricultural economy through prolonged interaction with agricultural populations”.

Beyond its nutritional function, food also plays a central role in migrants’ identity and in processes of inclusion and exclusion, the researchers said.

A separate study published last year by researchers at the University of Birmingham found that greater enjoyment of ethnic food was significantly associated with lower perceptions of immigrants as cultural and economic threats.

Did a bowl of millet help end a migrant crisis in China 1,500 years ago? | South China Morning Post