Human Biological Variation And Population Affinity During Bronze-Iron Age In Xinjiang Hami Region

Considered as a strategic post when Zhangqian firstly served as an envoy to the West, Hami of Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region has always been a dramatic place in Chinese historical literatures since Han Dynasty. In virtue of its particular geographic location, Hami was as the front position of cultural and genetic intercourse between Western and Eastern world. However, there is not a tangible documentation about pre-Han history of Hami region in ancient literatures. Recognizing these remote stories requires a range of analytical approached and diverse disciplinary perspectives in anthropology, bioarchaeology and archaeology.This dissertation is a comprehensive study of the human biological variation and population affinity during Bronze-Iron Age in Hami region. Based on the systematic analyses of skeletal human remains which have been excavated recently and literature review, the formation and transition of the cranial morphological character of ancient Hami people have been addressed in this dissertation. Moreover, the author preliminarily summarizes the pattern of cranial morphological character in this specific region and proposes a new hypothesis that ancient Hami people should be classified as a"transitional form"between Mongolian and Caucasian.This dissertation is composed of seven chapters.Chapter 1. IntroductionIn this chapter, the author reviews the history of archaeological and physical anthropological researches and briefly introduces the geographic profiles on this region. The purpose and the significance of this study, as well as the archaeological contexts of skeletal assemblages and methodology have been addressed at the end of this chapter.Chapter 2. Tianshan Beilu CemeteryThis chapter contents the discussion of the paleodemography, cranial non-metric and metric analyses, and pathological conditions of the ancient skeletal human remain exhumed from Tianshan Beilu cemetery. According to the cranial morphological comparison, the author proposes that the similarity and diversity coexist in Tianshan Beilu series. The relevant bimolecular researches have been discussed at the end of this chapter as well. The results of these analyses are supportive of this hypothesis.Chapter 3. The population affinity of ancient Yanbulake PeopleAfter reviewing all the previous studies on this region, the author discusses the population affinity of Yanbulake Culture (including Yanbulake cemetery, Wubao cemetery and Hanqigou cemetery), and proposes a different hypothesis of the physical characteristic of this crania series, as well as a concept of"transitional form"to the description.Chapter 4. Baiqier CemeteryThis chapter contents the discussion of paleodemography, cranial non-metric and metric analyses, and pathological conditions of the ancient skeletal human remain exhumed from Baiqier cemetery.Chapter 5. Heigouliang CemeteryThis chapter contents the discussion of paleodemography, cranial non-metric and metric analyses, and pathological conditions of the ancient skeletal human remain exhumed from Heigouliang cemetery. Two differentiable burial customs detected from this cemetery have been discussed at the end of this chapter as well. Chapter 6. Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Bronze-Iron Age skeletal human remains in Hami region.In this chapter, the author summarizes the previous studies of temporal and geographical related crania series which have been mentioned in this dissertation. According to the results of multivariate statistical analysis these crania series from Hami region and surrounding areas, the author states that the consistency has been detected in this region. The patterns of cranial morphological change through time have been addressed at the end of this chapter as well.Chapter 7. ConclusionBased on the results of material culture analyses, the author suggests that the dynamic transition of the cranial morphological character of Bronze-Iron Age skeletal human remains in Hami region could be artificially classified into three phases, including contact, amalgamation and polarization. Skeletal human remains from Tianshan Beilu cemetery, Yanbulake cemetery and Heigouliang cemetery are respectively represented the cranial morphological characters of these three phases. The author further states that the origins of these ancient people should be pluralistic and the majority was from Ganqing region of China. The fundamental population structure of the first two phases had not been changed, although intercourse must had been occurred in this region. The author proposes a new hypothesis that ancient Hami people should be classified as a"transitional form"between Mongolian and Caucasian.