Post by hjernespiser on Jan 28, 2009 8:18:17 GMT 3
From www.physanth.org/annmeet/aapa2009/ajpa2009.pdf
The people of the Xiongnu culture (3rd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.): Insights into the biological diversity of the earliest Eurasian nomadic steppe empire.
R.W. Schmidt1, B. Christy1, A. Burch1, A.R. Nelson2, N. Seguchi1,2.
1The Department of Anthropology, The University of Montana, Missoula, 2Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The prehistory of Mongolia has been characterized as a complex interaction of nomadic peoples throughout central Eurasia. Recent archaeological, genetic, and biological data support this theory.
This study uses a quantitative genetic approach to examine these relationships by analyzing craniometric data to elucidate questions concerning the origins and diversity of one particular time period known as the Xiongnu. By 2200 BP, much of Inner Asia became integrated and began to develop large-scale nomadic polities. The Xiongnu were one of the earliest nomadic Eurasian steppe empires and were contemporaneous with the Qin and Han dynasties of China (2221 – 1800 BP). The Xiongnu were constructed from diverse political and economic traditions through the integrative process of distinct Inner Asian peoples. Centrally located in north central Mongolia, Xiongnu archaeological culture has been identified from Manchuria to Kazakhstan.
This presentation attempts to quantify Xiongnu biological diversity through the analyses of craniometric data within a population genetic model (Relethford-Blangero). Xiongnu samples include various temporal and geographic contexts from excavations throughout Mongolia, in addition to the inclusion of several other geographic samples from Eurasia, East Asia, and North America for comparative purposes. Several multivariate analyses were performed to ascertain within-group and among-group variability to place the Xiongnu sample within a broader biological context. Our results demonstrate Xiongnu burials were similar biologically to other known Mongolian samples from several temporal periods. However, analyses also indicate higher within-group variability for the Xiongnu, which may reflect the elite status of peoples administering the polity of this incipient steppe empire.
Cranial nonmetric study of archaeological populations from different historical periods of Mongolia
M. Erdene. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia.
A cranial sample consisting of 300 skulls from Mongolia, ranging from the Neolithic period to modern era, was investigated using nonmetric traits. Nonmetric trait frequencies were calculated using the “individual count” method, and 19 traits were selected to calculate biological distances. Cranial nonmetric trait frequencies of pooled-sex and skull incidences for each population were arcsine-transformed and subsequently used to calculate the mean measure of divergence (MMD). Cluster analysis was used to obtain a dendrogram of phylogenetic relationship between the populations compared.
Cluster analysis show two distinct clusters for archaeological and modern populations from Mongolia. The first cluster consisted of the Xiongnu (2nd BC to 2nd AD) and medieval age populations from Central Mongolia. The second cluster is divided further into three subclusters. Bronze age populations from the Central and Eastern Mongolia form the first subcluster with the Iron age samples from the Western Mongolia. The second subcluster is formed by the Bronze age and modern populations from Western Mongolia. Medieval age population from Eastern Mongolia joins to this subcluster. Xiongnu populations from Western Mongolia and modern populations from Central Mongolia are found to be the closest among the studied groups. The next closest groups are Neolithic and Xiongnu samples from Eastern Mongolia. These populations form the third subcluster in the second cluster.
Biological affinities of the studied populations are confirmed in the results of the archaeological investigations conducted in the different territories of Mongolia.
The people of the Xiongnu culture (3rd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.): Insights into the biological diversity of the earliest Eurasian nomadic steppe empire.
R.W. Schmidt1, B. Christy1, A. Burch1, A.R. Nelson2, N. Seguchi1,2.
1The Department of Anthropology, The University of Montana, Missoula, 2Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The prehistory of Mongolia has been characterized as a complex interaction of nomadic peoples throughout central Eurasia. Recent archaeological, genetic, and biological data support this theory.
This study uses a quantitative genetic approach to examine these relationships by analyzing craniometric data to elucidate questions concerning the origins and diversity of one particular time period known as the Xiongnu. By 2200 BP, much of Inner Asia became integrated and began to develop large-scale nomadic polities. The Xiongnu were one of the earliest nomadic Eurasian steppe empires and were contemporaneous with the Qin and Han dynasties of China (2221 – 1800 BP). The Xiongnu were constructed from diverse political and economic traditions through the integrative process of distinct Inner Asian peoples. Centrally located in north central Mongolia, Xiongnu archaeological culture has been identified from Manchuria to Kazakhstan.
This presentation attempts to quantify Xiongnu biological diversity through the analyses of craniometric data within a population genetic model (Relethford-Blangero). Xiongnu samples include various temporal and geographic contexts from excavations throughout Mongolia, in addition to the inclusion of several other geographic samples from Eurasia, East Asia, and North America for comparative purposes. Several multivariate analyses were performed to ascertain within-group and among-group variability to place the Xiongnu sample within a broader biological context. Our results demonstrate Xiongnu burials were similar biologically to other known Mongolian samples from several temporal periods. However, analyses also indicate higher within-group variability for the Xiongnu, which may reflect the elite status of peoples administering the polity of this incipient steppe empire.
Cranial nonmetric study of archaeological populations from different historical periods of Mongolia
M. Erdene. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia.
A cranial sample consisting of 300 skulls from Mongolia, ranging from the Neolithic period to modern era, was investigated using nonmetric traits. Nonmetric trait frequencies were calculated using the “individual count” method, and 19 traits were selected to calculate biological distances. Cranial nonmetric trait frequencies of pooled-sex and skull incidences for each population were arcsine-transformed and subsequently used to calculate the mean measure of divergence (MMD). Cluster analysis was used to obtain a dendrogram of phylogenetic relationship between the populations compared.
Cluster analysis show two distinct clusters for archaeological and modern populations from Mongolia. The first cluster consisted of the Xiongnu (2nd BC to 2nd AD) and medieval age populations from Central Mongolia. The second cluster is divided further into three subclusters. Bronze age populations from the Central and Eastern Mongolia form the first subcluster with the Iron age samples from the Western Mongolia. The second subcluster is formed by the Bronze age and modern populations from Western Mongolia. Medieval age population from Eastern Mongolia joins to this subcluster. Xiongnu populations from Western Mongolia and modern populations from Central Mongolia are found to be the closest among the studied groups. The next closest groups are Neolithic and Xiongnu samples from Eastern Mongolia. These populations form the third subcluster in the second cluster.
Biological affinities of the studied populations are confirmed in the results of the archaeological investigations conducted in the different territories of Mongolia.
