A Research On The Human Skeletal Remains From Dunping Graveyard In Zhangxian,Gansu

The Dunping Graveyard is located in Sancha Village,15 kilometers west of Zhangxian County,Dingxi City,Gansu Province,on a secondary platform on the north bank of the Zhanghe River.The research materials are 25 human skeletons unearthed from Song Dynasty tombs.The comprehensive physical study of the ancient population in Dunping Graveyard was performed from paleodemography,paleopathology,body shape,skull morphology etc.,and the relationship between the population of the Song Dynasty in Dunping Graveyard and related ancient populations was analyzed.The human skeletons are well preserved,including 12 males and 13 females that were identified,and the age of death of 24 individuals could be identified.The death age of both male and female was concentrated in middle age,followed by the prime age.The pathological and abnormal phenomena of bones and teeth were observed and counted,mainly from aspects of congenital disease,skeletal trauma,joint disease,neoplastic disease and dental disease.Congenital disease includes spina bifida,transitional vertebrae,abnormal sternum and ribs,scapular foramina,and os acromiale.In neoplastic disease,only one case of ivory osteoma was observed.In joint disease,osteoarthritis,subacromial impingment syndrome,schmorl’s nodes and horseriding syndrome were mainly introduced and analyzed,among which osteoarthritis was more common.In terms of skeletal trauma,7 individuals had fractures,and the fracture sites included rib,vertebra,clavicle,ulna,femur,tibia,fibula,Metatarsal bone,among which rib fractures are the most.In dental disease,dental caries,apical abscess,dental calculus,periodontitis,ante mortem tooth loss,and enamel hypoplasia were counted and analyzed.The height and body mass are calculated by combining different methods,and the bone robusticity of the male and female individuals is analyzed through the measurement and index calculation of the humerus,femur and tibia.We gain an intuitive understanding on the overall body shape of the Dunping population.By observing and analyzing the non-measured and measured morphological characteristics of the skull,we have a preliminary understanding of the physical characteristics of the Dunping population.The results show that the Dunping population is physically most similar to the East Asian type of modern Mongolian.By comparing the cranial morphological characteristics of the Dunping population of the Song Dynasty with the relevant ancient comparison groups,we consider that the Dunping population were similar to the “Ancient Central Plain type” and the “Ancient Northwest Type” population of the Pre-Qin period.Finally,we combined with the relevant historical documents to discuss this problem.