Anthropological study of ancient human bones in China.

1994年和1995年，与中国社会科学院考古研究所、新疆考古研究所、新疆维吾尔自治区博物馆合作，对新疆维吾尔自治区古人类遗骨进行了体质人类学研究，以弄清新疆地区和时期的差异。采用骨人类学和口腔人类学的方法，对新疆南部罗浦县山普拉古墓出土的骨骸进行了调查。山普拉墓是汉代丝绸之路南线的遗址之一。经过仔细的清洁和修复工作后，对骨骼和牙齿进行了测量和观察。面部指数、面部平整度、鼻指数、门牙铲动、门牙双铲动等形态学特征证明洛普山普拉遗址人种成分以高加索人种为主。由于这一地区是汉代丝绸之路南线的所在地之一，我们倾向于估计这一地区曾有过混血或多元种族的生活。然而，本研究结果表明，当时的拉普山普拉是高加索人的生活区，不受蒙古人种基因的影响。这表明，其他种族对这个地区的遗传影响并不一定存在，即使文化或贸易商品从其他地区分布到这个地区。因此，对新疆丝绸之路遗址的基因流动、文化流动和贸易货物流动进行估算具有重要意义。

A study of physical anthropology of the ancient human skeletal remains from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was carried out in order to clarify the regional and period variation in Xinjiang, in cooperation with Institute of Archaeology Chinese Academy of Social Science, Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum in 1994 and 1995.The skeletal remains excavated from the Shanpula ancient tombs of Lopu country in south Xinjiang were surveyed by the osteological and dental anthropological method.The Shanpula tombs is one of the sites of the southern route of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. The skeletons and teeth were measured and observed after careful cleaning and restoration work. The morphological characteristics of facial index, facial flatness, nasal index, incisor shoveling, and incisor double-shoveling, proved that most of the racial component of the Lopu Shanpula site was caucasoid.We are apt to estimate that there was the mixed race or the living of plural race in this region, bacause this region is one of the site of the south route of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. Nevertheless the result of this study indicated that the Lapu Shanpula at the time was the living area of caucasoid, and was uninfluenced by mongoloid gene. This suggested that the genetic influence from other race to this region did not necessarily exist, even if culture or trade goods were distributed from other region to this region.Thus the estimation of the gene flow is important as well as the flow of culture and trade goods in the sites of the Silk Road of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.