Iron Age nomads of southern Siberia in craniofacial perspective

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6135817
AutoresRyan W Schmidt (Kitasato University), Andrej A Evteev (0000-0002-6254-1203, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow)
Ano2014
Volume122
Fascículo3
Páginas137-148
Data de publicação2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAnthropological Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0918-7960 • E-ISSN: 1348-8570
EditoraAnthropological Society of Nippon (PUBLISHER • JP)
DOI10.1537/ase.140724
OpenAlexW2030385640
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas59

This study quantifies the population history of Iron Age nomads of southern Siberia by analyzing craniofacial diversity among contemporaneous Bronze and Iron Age (7th–2nd centuries BC) groups and compares them to a larger geographic sample of modern Siberian and Central Asian populations. In our analyses, we focus on peoples of the Tagar and Pazyryk cultures, and Iron Age peoples of the Tuva region. Twenty-six cranial landmarks of the vault and facial skeleton were analyzed on a total of 461 ancient and modern individuals using geometric morphometric techniques. Male and female crania were separated to assess potential sex-biased migration patterns. We explore southern Siberian population history by including Turkic-speaking peoples, a Xiongnu Iron Age sample from Mongolia, and a Bronze Age sample from Xinjiang. Results show that male Pazyryk cluster closer to Iron Age Tuvans, while Pazyryk females are more isolated. Conversely, Tagar males seem more isolated, while Tagar females cluster amongst an Early Iron Age southern Siberian sample. When additional modern Siberian samples are included, Tagar and Pazyryk males cluster more closely with each other than females, suggesting possible sex-biased migration amongst different Siberian groups. This is evident in modern female Tuva, who cluster with modern female Kalmyk, while modern Tuvan males do not. Male and female Iron Age Tuvans are not closely related to modern Tuvan peoples living in the region today, resulting from the influx of the Xiongnu beginning in the Late Iron Age. Both male and female Pazyryk and Tagar crania appear more similar to Central Asia groups, especially the Kazakh and Uzbek samples. However, there is evidence that Tagar females have a common origin with the Yakut, a modern nomadic population that resides in northeastern Siberia. These results would suggest variable genetic contributions for both sexes from Central and East Asia

Archaeology · Biology · Bronze Age · Crania · Craniofacial · Geography · Iron Age · Population · Demography · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research