The man, the woman and the hyoid bone: from archaeology to the burial practices of the Xiongnu people (Egyin Gol valley, Mongolia)

Murail, Pascal; Crubézy, Éric; Martin, Helene A.; Haye, L.; Brůžek, Jaroslav; Giscard, Pierre-Henri; Turbat, Tsagaan; Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00059883

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…At a short distance from him, a privileged man was also buried (grave 27), as were other individuals, including those found in double graves (graves 32/32A, 33/33A, 37/ 37A, and 38/38A). Some of these surrounding graves could be sacrificial burials, as has been reported elsewhere for one of them (Murail et al 2000). This tradition of having double graves near an opulent one in cemeteries containing individuals of high social class is well documented, notably in the Sakka (another group of nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes) and the Pazyryk cultures (Francfort et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

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Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a 2,000-Year-Old Necropolis in the Egyin Gol Valley of Mongolia

Keyser-Tracqui¹,

Crubézy

Ludes

2003

The American Journal of Human Genetics

171

178

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DNA was extracted from the skeletal remains of 62 specimens excavated from the Egyin Gol necropolis, in northern Mongolia. This burial site is linked to the Xiongnu period and was used from the 3rd century b.c. to the 2nd century a.d. Three types of genetic markers were used to determine the genetic relationships between individuals buried in the Egyin Gol necropolis. Results from analyses of autosomal and Y chromosome short tandem repeats, as well as mitochondrial DNA, showed close relationships between several specimens and provided additional background information on the social organization within the necropolis as well as the funeral practices of the Xiongnu people. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using biparental, paternal, and maternal genetic systems to reconstruct partial genealogies in a protohistoric necropolis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…2, 3, and 4). The southern sector (A) was composed of four double graves (32/32A, 33/33A, 37/37A, and 38/38A), each of which contained two sets of remains that were probably buried within the same period (Murail et al 2000). Grave 27 was surmounted by a standing stone and was found to conceal exceptional furniture.…”

Section: Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a 2,000-Year-Old Necropolis in the Egyin Gol Valley of Mongolia

Keyser-Tracqui¹,

Crubézy

Ludes

2003

The American Journal of Human Genetics

171

178

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“…The low-burial frequency (0.25 burial per year), funerary artifacts and practices (use of coffins and chests, depth of the graves at two-five meters, animal sacrifices, etc. ), and the genetic analysis of human remains suggested that this burial site was used by high-social-status individuals representing only a subset of the whole Xiongnu community (Crubézy et al, 1996;Murail et al, 2000;Keyser-Tracqui et al, 2003). The extent of epiphyseal fusion and spheno-occipital synchondrosis was used to determine the subadult and adult status of all individuals.…”

Section: Materials Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison between morphological and genetic data to estimate biological relationship: The case of the Egyin Gol necropolis (Mongolia)

Ricaut

Auriol

Cramon‐Taubadel

et al. 2010

American J Phys Anthropol

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Osseous and dental nonmetric (discrete) traits have long been used to assess population variability and affinity in anthropological and archaeological contexts. However, the full extent to which nonmetric traits can reliably be used as a proxy for genetic data when assessing close or familial relationships is currently poorly understood. This study represents the unique opportunity to directly compare genetic and nonmetric data for the same individuals excavated from the Egyin Gol necropolis, Mongolia. These data were analyzed to consider the general efficacy of nonmetric traits for detecting familial groupings in the absence of available genetic data. The results showed that the Egyin Gol population is quite homogenous both metrically and genetically confirming a previous suggestion that the same people occupied the necropolis throughout the five centuries of its existence. Kinship analysis detected the presence of potential family burials in the necropolis. Moreover, individuals buried in one sector of the necropolis were differentiated from other sectors on the basis of nonmetric data. This separation is likely due to an outside Turkish influence in the paternal line, as indicated by the results of Y-chromosome analysis. Affinity matrices based on nonmetric and genetic data were correlated demonstrating the potential of nonmetric traits for detecting relationships in the absence of genetic data. However, the strengths of the correlations were relatively low, cautioning against the use of nonmetric traits when the resolution of the familial relationships is low.

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“…The Egiin Gol sample comes from the Borkhan Tolgoi cemetery, which has been previously studied (Murail et al, 2000;Keyser-Traqui et al, 2003;Wright, 2006;Wright et al, 2009;Ricaut et al, 2010). This necropolis was used during the entire Xiongnu period and contains the remains of 84 graves containing skeletal material from 99 individuals (Fig.…”

Section: "Local" Level Analysis Suggests Possible Population Structurmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was arranged into three main sections that roughly correspond to temporal ordering. Section A is the oldest followed by Section B and Section C. Section A contains a number of "double burials" near graves marked with higher status individuals (Murail et al, 2000). This practice was quite common among peoples of the Scytho-Siberian tradition, including the Yakuts and the Bronze Age Pazyryk culture of the Gorny Altai in southern Siberia (Chikisheva, 2000(Chikisheva, , 2008Ricaut et al, 2004aRicaut et al, , 2004bAmory et al, 2006).…”

Section: "Local" Level Analysis Suggests Possible Population Structurmentioning

confidence: 99%

Craniofacial variation of the Xiongnu Iron Age nomads of Mongolia reveals their possible origins and population history

Schmidt

Seguchi

2016

Quaternary International

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This paper examines Iron Age Mongolia during a time when nomadic tribes created the world's first steppe empire in Inner Asia. These aggregated tribes, known as Xiongnu (3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD), came to define steppe polity construction, later used by the Mongol Empire under the reign of Genghis Khan. They moved extensively over the eastern steppe and interacted, both in trade and intermarriage, with peoples from southern Siberia to Xinjiang. However, the Xiongnu as a people are relatively unknown to scholars, as they did not possess a written language. This study assesses Xiongnu population history and biological structure by analyzing craniofacial diversity via geometric morphometrics. Twenty-four coordinate cranial landmarks were used to test relationships among groups in the region and infer potential biological origins. The Relethford-Blangero R-matrix method was used to test hypotheses of phenotypic variation resulting from microevolutionary processes. This study hypothesizes biological continuity among Xiongnu individuals extending into modern Mongolian populations. Alternatively, long-range gene flow from adjacent geographic regions might suggest a complex

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The man, the woman and the hyoid bone: from archaeology to the burial practices of the Xiongnu people (Egyin Gol valley, Mongolia)

Cited by 15 publications

References 3 publications

Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a 2,000-Year-Old Necropolis in the Egyin Gol Valley of Mongolia

Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a 2,000-Year-Old Necropolis in the Egyin Gol Valley of Mongolia

Comparison between morphological and genetic data to estimate biological relationship: The case of the Egyin Gol necropolis (Mongolia)

Craniofacial variation of the Xiongnu Iron Age nomads of Mongolia reveals their possible origins and population history

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