Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Unraveling the Population History of the Xiongnu People to Explain Population Genetic and Archaeological Models of Mongolia's Prehistoric Past

这项研究强调了通过时间的形态连续性，证明了复杂的颅面特征，并测试了假设，即匈奴的聚合部落，一个草原文明，在青铜时代（约2000年）出现。公元前世纪-公元世纪）起源于蒙古，没有显著的生物学相互作用，也没有来自中国和欧亚大陆西部群体的外部迁移。这一假设受到了考古学和分子证据的挑战。匈奴的考古遗迹表明，匈奴与中亚和中亚的贸易和交流网络十分复杂。虽然社会政治的变化在考古记录中可能是明显的，但它并不一定意味着基因流动。这项生物考古学研究调查了内蒙古亚洲群体的颅面变化，并利用蒙古、中国和俄罗斯骨骼样本的二维和三维颅骨数据测试了有关匈奴政体起源的假设。 这些颅骨数据和分析解决了早期游牧草原政治的建设，组织和整合中的区域迁移和交换网络问题。这项研究扩展了现有的骨骼生物学分析，并通过利用测试匈奴人口历史的人口遗传框架，为游牧国家形成模型做出了贡献。分子研究表明，现代蒙古人和匈奴人之间存在着共同的基因库，并且与欧亚人群也有重要的遗传交流。颅面多样性有可能验证或拒绝这些发现。 这项研究有助于我们了解贸易对史前蒙古移民模式的影响。通过研究颅面测量，生物交流的证据有可能使人们深入了解这一地区的政治经济和意识形态，并促进考古，历史和遗传记录之间的比较，直接骨骼证据，在这段时间游牧对外关系的准确性质。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括与蒙古，西伯利亚和中国研究人员在研究和教育方面的合作。

This study emphasizes morphological continuity through time as evidenced in complex craniofacial traits, and tests the hypothesis that the aggregate tribes of the Xiongnu, an steppe civilization that arose during the Bronze Age (ca. 3rd century BCE - 2nd century CE) originated in Mongolia without significant biological interaction and external migration from groups in China and Western Eurasia. This hypothesis has been challenged using archaeological and molecular evidence. Archaeological remains of the Xiongnu suggest a complex network of trade and exchange with Inner and Central Asian groups. Though sociopolitical change may be evident in the archaeological record, it does not necessarily imply gene flow. This bioarchaeological research investigates craniofacial variation of Inner Asian groups testing hypotheses concerning the origins of the Xiongnu polity with two- and three-dimensional cranial data of skeletal samples in Mongolia, China, and Russia. These cranial data and analyses address issues of regional migration and exchange networks in the construction, organization, and integration of early nomadic steppe polities. The research expands on existing skeletal biological analyses and contributes to a model of nomadic state formation by utilizing a population genetic framework that tests Xiongnu population history. Molecular studies suggest a common gene pool between modern Mongolians and Xiongnu peoples, and also significant genetic exchange with Eurasian populations. Craniofacial diversity has the potential to validate or reject these findings. This study contributes significantly to our knowledge of the influence of trade on migration patterns in prehistoric Mongolia. By examining craniofacial measures, evidence of biological exchange has the potential to give insight into the political economy and ideology of this region, and facilitate a comparison between archaeological, historical, and genetic records with direct skeletal evidence as to the accurate nature of nomadic foreign relations during this time. Broader impacts of this study include collaboration in research and education with Mongolian, Siberian, and Chinese researchers.