Geographical range | Mongolia |
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Period | Bronze Age, Iron Age |
Dates | 1300 (Transbaikal) 700 (Mongolia) –300 BC. [1] |
Preceded by | Ulaanzuukh culture, Deer stones culture |
Followed by | Xiongnu Empire |
The Slab-grave culture is an archaeological culture of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Mongolia. [3] [4] The Slab-Grave culture formed one of the primary ancestral components of the succeeding Xiongnu, as revealed by genetic evidence. The ethnogenesis of Turkic peoples and the modern Mongolian people is, at least partially, linked to the Slab-Grave culture by historical and archaeological evidence [5] [6] and further corroborated by genetic research on the Slab Grave remains. [7] [8]
The Slab-grave culture is dated from 1300 (Transbaikal) resp. 700 (Mongolia) to 300 BC. [9] The origin of the Slab-grave culture is not definitively known, however genetic evidence is consistent with multiple hypotheses of a local origin dating back to at least the Bronze Age. [10] In particular, the people of the Ulaanzuukh culture and the Slab Grave culture are closely linked to the westwards expansion of Neolithic Amur ancestry associated with Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA). [11] The genetic profiles of individuals from the Ulaanzuukh LBA and the Slab Grave culture are identical, which is in agreement with the archaeological hypothesis that the Slab Grave culture emerged from the Ulaanzuukh. [12]
To the west and northwest, the Slab-Grave culture was adjacent to, and essentially contemporaneous with the Deer stones culture of primarily Khövsgöl LBA ancestry, and various Saka cultures such as the Tagar culture, the Pazyryk culture and the Aldy-Bel culture for a period of several centuries. [2] [13] The Slab-Grave culture was superseded by the Xiongnu culture, which formed a vast empire stretching across much of the Eurasian world, and saw the hybridization of Scytho-Siberian and Eastern Steppe populations and cultures.
Slab-grave cultural monuments are found in northern, central and eastern Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Northwest China (Xinjiang region, Qilian Mountains etc.), Manchuria, Lesser Khingan, Buryatia, southern Irkutsk Oblast and southern and central Zabaykalsky Krai. The name of the culture is derived from the main typology of the graves, its graves have rectangular fences (chereksurs) of vertically set slabs of gneiss or granite, with stone kurgans inside the fence. There were also found settlements, burial and ritual structures, rock paintings, deer stones, and other remains of that culture.
The most recent graves date from the 6th century BC, and the earliest monuments of the next in time Xiongnu culture belong to the 2nd century BC.[ citation needed ]
The slab graves are both individual and collective in groups of 5–8 to large burials with up to 350 fences. Large cemeteries have a clear plan. In Aga Buryat District were found more than three thousand fences. Most of the graves are burials, some are ritual fences – cenotaphs. Graves are oriented along west-east axis. Deceased are laid on the back, with the head to the east.
The fences vary from 1.5 m to 9.6 m, a height of the slabs vary from 0,5 m to 3 m. The grave pits under some kurgan mounds are covered with slabs that often are of considerable sizes. The depth of the burial pits vary from 0,6 m to 2,5–3 meters, in deep graves the side slabs were stacked and covered with several slab layers. In places within the fence sometimes were installed deer stones, single slabs with images of deer, less frequently of the horses, accompanied with solar signs and armaments.
A burial complex on the Lami mountain in the Nerchinsk area consisted of graves about 30 meters in length, divided into 4 sections. Not plundered fence was covered by several slabs each weighing up to half a ton. Under cover slabs was an altar with skulls of horses, cows and sheep. Below were five burial chambers for inhumation.
Most of the graves were looted. The buried clothing and footwear is colorful, with various ornaments of bronze, bone and stone: plaques, buttons, necklaces, pendants, mirrors, cowrie shells. The accompanying tools are rare: Needles and needle beds, knives and axes-celts. Even less common are weapons: arrowheads, daggers, bow end caps. In some graves are horse harnesses, whip handles. There are bronze objects, fewer iron and precious metals.
Jars are round-bottom earthenware, some tripods. Vessel ornament are impressions, rolled bands, indentations. The art of the slab-grave culture belongs to the "animal style" art that depicts domesticated and wild animals, daily life and main occupations. The slab-grave culture art has many common features with cultures of Southern Siberia: Karasuk, Tagar, and others.
Thousands of graves can now be seen in the southern Baikal area. In some cases they form a cemetery, with a clear plan and a strict order. For example, at lake Balzino about a hundred graves formed circles and rectangles. They are usually located at higher elevation, and exposed to sun. Monumental burials mark the greatness of the people who once lived there. They became an integral part of the East Baikal steppes cultural and historical landscape. Slab-grave burials frequently reused stone material from nearby Deer stones culture sites. [14] The replacement of the Deer stones culture by the Slab-grave culture in central and eastern Mongolia around 700 BCE might mark a replacement of Caucasoid physical types by Mongoloid ones in the region. [15] To the west, the Deer stone culture was replaced by, or evolved into, the various Saka cultures, such as the Uyuk culture and the Chandman culture and the Pazyryk culture. [16]
Autosomal genetic evidence from several Slab-grave remains suggests that they were largely derived from Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA), specifically from Neolithic Amur populations. [17] They largely replaced the previous Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Baikal hunter-gatherers, although geneflow between them has been proposed, particularly between a Neolithic Eastern Mongolian population (East_Mongolia_preBA) with primarily Amur_N-like ancestry and a local Late Bronze Age population (Khövsgöl_LBA) associated with the Deer stones culture. [18] While the majority of Slab Grave remains were of primarily Neolithic Amur ancestry, some Slab Grave remains displayed admixed ancestry between Neolithic Amur and pre-existing Khövsgöl/Baikal hunter-gatherers, consistent with the proposed expansion of Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave ancestry north and westwards and archaeological evidence. [18] Local Neolithic to Bronze Age Baikal hunter-gatherers and Khövsgöl herders associated with the Deer Stones culture themselves were of primarily Ancient Northern East Asian ancestry, and are inferred to have expanded prior to the dispersal of Neolithic Amur-associated groups from further East. As the Khövsgöl herders harbored only limited Western admixture (4-7%) from Sintashta or Afanasievo sources, it is argued that the adaption of dairy pastoralism was via cultural transmission rather than by admixture. [19]
Genetic data indicates that the Slab Grave culture, in conjunction with the Chandman culture, gave rise to the succeeding Xiongnu confederation. Although early Xiongnu displayed a substructured genetic makeup, a differentiation based on social class is possible: While retainers of low status mainly displayed ancestry related to the Chandman/Uyuk culture or various combinations of Chandman/Uyuk and Ancient Northeast Asian Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave profiles, high status Xiongnu individuals tended to have less genetic diversity, and their ancestry was essentially derived from the Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave culture. [20]
The ruling clan of the Turkic peoples, the Ashina tribe, was found to display close genetic affinities with the Slab Grave and Ulaanzuukh culture remains. [21]
All eight currently sequenced Slab-grave males have been identified as belonging to East Eurasian paternal haplogroups. [22] [23] The predominant Y-DNA haplogroup in Slab-grave males has been identified as Q (5/8 Q-M120 and 1/8 Q-L330), with a minority belonging to N-M231 (2/8). [24]
The transition from the Slab-grave culture period to the Xiongnu period was characterized as a massive increase of West Eurasian paternal ancestry, rising from 0% to 46%, which was not accompanied by increased West Eurasian maternal ancestry. This may be consistent with an aggressive expansion of males with West Eurasian paternal ancestry, or possibly marriage alliances that favored such people. According to Rogers and Kaestle (2022), these two scenarios are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but more data is needed to concisely explain why such an increase took place. [25]
Slab-grave maternal lineages were more diverse, with 64-72% being of East Eurasian origin (such as A, B, C, D, F, M, G, and Z), while approximately 28-36% were of West Eurasian origin (such as K, J, and H). [26] [27]
East Eurasian maternal lineages in the Slab-grave population can be easily traced to Transbaikalian neolithic agriculturalists. On the other hand, West Eurasian maternal lineages are believed to have complex origins, with many tracing back to ancient hunter gatherers who mixed with early agriculturalists in the early Holocene period, or to middle eastern agriculturalists who expanded eastward after the advent of sheep herding. Others could be linked to much later Bronze Age populations such as Afanasievo or Scythians. The complex diversity of West Eurasian ancestral lineages in the Slab-grave population makes it difficult to pinpoint their exact origin. [28] [29]
History of Mongolia |
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The Xiongnu were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire.
The Tashtyk culture was a Late Iron Age archaeological culture that flourished in the Yenisei valley in Siberia from the 1st century CE to the 4th century CE. Located in the Minusinsk Depression, environs of modern Krasnoyarsk, eastern part of Kemerovo Oblast, it was preceded by the Tagar culture and the Tesinsky culture.
The Afanasievo culture, or Afanasevo culture, is an early archaeological culture of south Siberia, occupying the Minusinsk Basin and the Altai Mountains during the eneolithic era, c. 3300 to 2500 BCE. It is named after a nearby mountain, Gora Afanasieva in what is now Bogradsky District, Khakassia, Russia, first excavated by archaeologist Sergei Teploukhov in 1920-1929. Afanasievo burials have been found as far as Shatar Chuluu in central Mongolia, confirming a further expansion about 1,500 km beyond the Altai Mountains. The Afanasievo culture is now considered as an integral part of the Prehistory of Western and Central Mongolia.
The Koban culture or Kuban culture, is a late Bronze Age and Iron Age culture of the northern and central Caucasus. It is preceded by the Colchian culture of the western Caucasus and the Kharachoi culture further east.
Deer stones, sometimes called the Deer stone-khirigsuur complex (DSKC) in reference to neighbouring khirigsuur tombs, are ancient megaliths carved with symbols found mainly in Mongolia and, to a lesser extent, in the adjacent areas in Siberia. 1300 of 1500 the deer stones found so far are located in Mongolia. The name comes from their carved depictions of flying deer. The "Deer stones culture" relates to the lives and technologies of the late Bronze Age peoples associated with the deer stones complexes, as informed by archaeological finds, genetics and the content of deer stones art.
The Tagar culture was a Bronze Age Saka archeological culture which flourished between the 8th and 1st centuries BC in South Siberia. The culture was named after an island in the Yenisei River opposite Minusinsk. The civilization was one of the largest centres of bronze-smelting in ancient Eurasia.
The Prehistory of Siberia is marked by several archaeologically distinct cultures. In the Chalcolithic, the cultures of western and southern Siberia were pastoralists, while the eastern taiga and the tundra were dominated by hunter-gatherers until the Late Middle Ages and even beyond. Substantial changes in society, economics and art indicate the development of nomadism in the Central Asian steppes in the first millennium BC.
The Glazkov culture, Glazkovo culture, or Glazkovskaya culture, was an archaeological culture in the Lake Baikal area during the Early Bronze Age.
Arzhan is a site of early Saka kurgan burials in the Tuva Republic, Russia, some 60 kilometers (40 mi) northwest of Kyzyl. It is on a high plateau traversed by the Uyuk River, a minor tributary of the Yenisei River, in the region of Tuva, 20 km to the southwest of the city of Turan.
Okunev culture, also known as Okunevo culture, was a south Siberian archaeological culture of pastoralists from the early Bronze Age dated from the end of the 3rd millennium BC to the early 2nd millennium BC in the Minusinsk Basin on the middle and upper Yenisei. It was formed from the local Neolithic Siberian forest cultures, who also showed evidence of admixture from Western Steppe Herders and pre-existing Ancient North Eurasians.
The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian-originated ethnic groups in East, North, South Asia and Eastern Europe, who speak Mongolic languages. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contemporary Mongolic ethnic group is the Mongols. Mongolic-speaking people, although distributed in a wide geographical area, show a high genetic affinity to each other, and display continuity with ancient Northeast Asians.
The climate of Central Asia became dry after the large tectonic collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This impact threw up the massive chain of mountains known as the Himalayas. The Himalayas, Greater Khingan and Lesser Khingan mountains act like a high wall, blocking the warm and wet climate from penetrating into Central Asia. Many of the mountains of Mongolia were formed during the Late Neogene and Early Quaternary periods. The Mongolian climate was more humid hundreds of thousands of years ago.
The Chandman culture, also known as Chandmani culture, was a nomadic culture that existed in northwestern Mongolia and southern Siberia during the Iron Age, and is also known as the "Sagly-Bazhy culture" on the Russian side of the frontier. It is associated with the Eastern Scythian/Saka horizon, and is part of the more general Saka Uyuk culture.
The Uyuk culture refers to the Saka culture of the Turan-Uyuk depression around the Uyuk river, in modern-day Tuva Republic.
The Sagly-Bazhy culture or Sagly/Uyuk culture, also known as Chandman culture in Mongolia, refers to the Saka culture of the Sayan Mountains, in modern-day Tuva Republic. It is the last stage of the Uyuk culture.
The Chemurchek culture, also called Khemtseg, Hemtseg, Qiemu’erqieke, Shamirshak, is a Bronze Age archaeological culture of western Mongolia and the borders of neighbouring countries, such as the Dzungarian Basin of Xinjiang and eastern Kazakhstan. It immediately follows the Afanasievo culture, and is contemporary with the early Tarim Mummies to the south and the Okunev culture to the north. The Chemurchek burials are characterized by large rectangular stone fences, built around collective tombs. The mortuary position of the deceased is similar to that of the Afanasievo culture, but the Chemurchek culture is considered as distinct. The name "Chemurchek culture" is derived from the Chemurchek cemetery in Altay City of Chinese Xinjiang. Chemurchek sites have been identified from western Mongolia to areas as far west as the Ili valley.
The Ulaanzuukh culture, also Ulaanzuukh-Tevsh culture, is an archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age eastern Mongolia. It likely preceded and was the origin of the Slab-grave culture.
In archaeogenetics, the term Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA), also known as Amur ancestry, is the name given to an ancestral component that represents the lineage of the hunter-gatherer people of the 7th-4th millennia before present, in far-eastern Siberia, Mongolia and the Baikal regions. They are inferred to have diverged from Ancient East Asians about 24kya ago, and are represented by several ancient human specimens found in archaeological excavations east of the Altai Mountains. They are a sub-group of the Ancient Northern East Asians (ANEA).
The Sagsai culture is an early Bronze Age culture of Western Mongolia. It was centered on the Sagsai area and succeeded the Chemurchek culture.
The Munkhkhairkhan culture, also Munkh-Khairkhan or Mönkhkhairkhan was a Middle Bronze Age culture of southern Siberia and western Mongolia, named after Mönkhkhairkhan Mountain in western Mongolia, and dating to 1800–1600 BCE. It immediately follows the Afanasievo culture and the Khemtseg culture. It was contemporary with the Andronovo culture, but its very existence suggests that the Androvo culture did not extend far into Mongolia.
Overall, individuals from the Ulaanzuukh and the Slab Grave cultures present a homogeneous genetic profile that has deep roots in the region and is referred to as Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA)
Likely arising out of the LBA Ulaanzuukh archaeological culture (ca. 1450 to 1150 BCE) in eastern Mongolia, Slab Grave groups expanded into central and northern Mongolia as far north as the Lake Baikal region (7, 14, 64). Overall, individuals from the Ulaanzuukh and the Slab Grave cultures present a homogeneous genetic profile that has deep roots in the region and is referred to as Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) (14). ... This pattern, in which most Slab Grave individuals are genetically homogeneous while some have a large and heterogeneous ancestry fraction deriving from a Khovsgol_LBA-like gene pool, is likely due to population mixing in their recent past and is consistent with archaeological evidence that the Slab Grave culture expanded into central and northern Mongolia and replaced the preceding inhabitants in the region with a low level of mixing (65).
Overall, we find that genetic heterogeneity is highest among lower-status individuals. In particular, the satellite graves surrounding the elite square tombs at TAK show extreme levels of genetic heterogeneity, suggesting that these individuals, who were likely low-ranking retainers, were drawn from diverse parts of the empire. In contrast, the highest-status individuals at the two sites tended to have lower genetic diversity and a high proportion of ancestry deriving from EIA Slab Grave groups, suggesting that these groups may have disproportionately contributed to the ruling elite during the formation of the Xiongnu empire.
In addition, Ashina showed close genetic affinity with population related to Bronze Age Slab Grave and Ulaanzukh culture in Mongolia.
All but two males (BUL002 and I6365) associated with the Ulaanzuukh and Slab Grave cultures belong to Y-haplogroup Q, all three AR_Xianbei_IA males belong to Y-haplogroup C, and the Xiongnu males harbor both Q and C (data file S1C) (14, 15).