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

这项研究强调形态随时间的连续性，这在复杂的头面部特征中得到了证明，并检验了这样的假设，即起源于青铜时代(约公元前3世纪-公元前2世纪)的草原文明匈奴的聚合部落起源于蒙古，没有明显的生物互动和来自中国和欧亚大陆西部群体的外部迁徙。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，与中亚和中亚地区的贸易和交流存在着复杂的网络。尽管社会政治变化在考古记录中可能很明显，但这并不一定意味着基因流动。这项生物考古研究利用蒙古、中国和俄罗斯的骨骼标本的二维和三维头骨数据，调查了内亚群体的头面部变异，验证了匈奴民族起源的假说。这些头颅数据和分析涉及早期游牧草原政治的建设、组织和整合中的区域迁徙和交换网络问题。这项研究扩展了现有的骨骼生物学分析，并利用测试匈奴种群历史的种群遗传框架，建立了游牧国家形成的模型。分子研究表明，现代蒙古族和匈奴人之间存在共同的基因库，也与欧亚人群进行了显著的基因交流。头面部的多样性有可能证实或拒绝这些发现。这项研究对我们了解贸易对蒙古史前移民模式的影响有重要意义。通过研究头面部测量，生物交换的证据有可能深入了解这一地区的政治经济和意识形态，并促进考古、历史和遗传记录与直接骨骼证据之间的比较，以确定这一时期游牧民族外交关系的准确性质。这项研究的更广泛影响包括与蒙古、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.